Devotional 12-5-13

Thankful

This season of the year with its beautiful colors and moderate temperatures stimulates the senses and is the perfect prelude to Thanksgiving which in turn helps to prepare our hearts for Christmas.  The incredible beauty of autumn heightens my awareness of the presence of God all around, and leads to reflection on the incredible ways God has blessed my life and how thankful I feel for those blessings, the essence of Thanksgiving.

  

It is not a coincidence that this time of year our church conducts its stewardship campaign.  Some groan at mention of the word stewardship and may even skip some Sundays during this time because they see it merely as the church trying to guilt them into parting with their money.  As I have grown in my faith, my perspective on giving has changed, however.  I have come to realize, thanks to the witness of fellow church members and the sermons from our pastors, that our giving doesn’t come from guilt but should be motivated by gratitude and done to glorify God through the church and its programs. Along with financial stewardship, we are also reminded to consider whether and how much we are sharing the other “riches” we possess – our time and talents – which are equally important to the life of the church.

Just as I’m glad autumn helps transition our weather from summer to winter, I’m grateful that stewardship season and Thanksgiving come before Christmas.  Appreciating just how rich we truly are in terms of blessings and gifts from God helps insulate us to some degree from those aspects of the Christmas season that are not spiritual.  Rabid consumerism forced on us way too soon, pressure to spend beyond our means, crowds, rampant rudeness and inconsideration, and the stress that comes with these things, threaten to blur our vision of the coming Christ child and replace the gratitude in our hearts with anger, frustration and even resentfulness, leaving no room for the most amazing blessing of all. This year, my prayer is that we may maintain an “attitude of gratitude,” and that we make an effort to find something to be thankful for in every situation even if we do so grudgingly with clenched teeth and fists.  I hope this will help keep our hearts open to receive and acknowledge the blessing of our Savior’s birth. 

Mary Taylor