Thorton Wilder said that "we are truly alive when our hearts are conscious of our treasure." We often speak of the blessings of this country on Thanksgiving.  We say how blessed our country is, but nations rise and fall, but they do not ever approach the reign of God. It lifts one's position to realize that the powerful do not possess ultimate power. In our lifetime, the Soviet Union fell.  Prayers such as Nehemiah 9 rehearse the history of Israel. He is grateful for creation and the gift of life,of God's compassion for our many needs, the gifts of land, and God's hearing of prayer and patience.We can grab moments of history of our own land, over 400 years of European settlement.. Almost after founding Jamestown, we sullied a paradise with slaves. The Pilgrims came, as would others for religious freedom. In time, we threw off our colonial masters and as Paine said, we have it in our power to begin the world over again. We expanded at terrible coast to the Indians and the social plague of slavery needed in horrific bloodshed. For the last hundred years, we have been a world power, defeated Hitler and been defeated. Still, we stand as a beacon of hope and freedom for billions.Some see the hand of God quite visibly in our history; while others may see it more as a hidden hand behind the scenes of human events. He is grateful for the connection, the unbreakable connection between God and God's people. I would add the connection between God and seedtime and harvest, as we say and sing at this time of year.

 

It's been said that thanksgiving requires memory. Can we be grateful for things we have forgotten, or all of those things that pass by unnoticed? Cameron wrote "nothing is possessed unless it is appreciated." I hope that we take a bit of time out from food and football, especially since the afternoon games don't promise much, to make a small inventory of gratitude, maybe in increments of years of one or five or seven.What are some memories of Thanksgiving past? What are some treasures that rise to your awareness this evening? I remember trying to walk off a big dinner, so that I could eat more for a supper of leftovers and my favorite, hot turkey sandwiches. I walked by a house ablaze with light, as a family was gathered around a large dining room table with their heads bowed for grace, like a living Norman Rockwell painting. Every year, my mother would tell us her hypothesis that all of the ovens caused a minor brownout, so that's why the turkey was taking longer than she thought it should, notwithstanding that it hadn't thawed when it had been placed in the oven. There's a Thanksgiving memory: numb hands trying to loosen frozen goodies from the cavity of the bird, after trying to get the roasting pan out from the back of the cupboard without waking the whole house..

 

Unknown blessing are on the way. That, too,  is a test of spiritual life, to be grateful for blessings not yet seen. It is a mark of our view of God and human life,, if we expect things to go downhill or to possess a mixture of good and bad, with plenty of surprises in between. What would you love to be grateful for next year at this time? What would you like to see more evident in our communities, even our country? Prayer does indeed affect the future and we will find a future filled with good things and people, expected and unexpected. To say grace is to give thanks, whenever we feast together.