Pastor Craig - November 2019

 First of all I know how to spell gratefulness. I know that it comes from the word gratitude. OK having said that for all of you English teachers out there here goes. As a kid this spelling did not make any sense to me especially when I knew that a grater was used to cut vegetables such as carrots for relish trays, potatoes for “Julian” French Fries as well as a whole bunch of other things. As I said I believe that we have messed up the spelling for centuries.

 Hang on to what follows. Have you ever noticed that those who are the most thankful are the people that have a sense of “Full-ness” in their life? I don’t mean having a lot of money or possessions or a fancy car or any of the other “things” that sometimes we end up listing for what we are thankful for. They have come to understand that the life that we have been given is one that does go beyond ourselves. There is a purpose that cannot be measured by any statistical means. As I say this immediately someone has come into your mind that you know or have known that has or had “Great-Full-Ness” in the sense that I am talking about.

 The person that I think about was a woman who lived up in the Turtle Mountains on the North Dakota/Canadian border. She and her husband took over the family farm from his parents who had settled there. They lived in a nice house when I met them, because her husband had over the years learned how to be a carpenter. She showed me the place one time where she first lived with him on his parent’s land and it really was that one room tar paper shack that had a wood stove. I could only imagine what the winters were like, living and sleeping in this cramped room. She really embodied to me a sense of being “Full-Ness”. It was contagious. Her attitude was never “What can I get.” It was “What can I give.”

 It is sometimes hard to be around people who are celebrating Thanksgiving, if you have a sense of being empty. This could be caused by life situations, depression, or the remembering of someone who has died and that chair is newly vacant or has been vacant for a long time. Here is the thing, even if it is torture to be around “Thank-Full” people, we need them to remind ourselves of all that we have to really be thankful for.

 God knows who we are and yet God loves us anyway. God gives us things that we cannot live without. He gives us bodies that miraculously function. God gives the very breath that we breathe. God gives us forgiveness and grace when we need it the most. God gives us people that reflect God’s promises in our life.

 My prayer for you is that you have “Great-Full-Ness”. For when you are “Full” there is no need to feel empty.

In Christ,

Pastor Craig