Excerpts From: The Messenger |
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An Attitude of Gratitude
Enter His gates with thanksgiving and His courts with praise; give thanks to Him and praise His name.
Psalm 100:4 (NIV)
During the mid 1970’s I had the privilege of travelling extensively with a group of young Christian people in Western Europe. We came from different parts of the world: Denmark, Ghana, Kenya, Bolivia, USA, Sweden, France, Holland, New Zealand, and England doing mission work (Evangelization). The Christian organization was Youth With A Mission (YWAM).
Travelling with such a diverse group of people came with its’ own challenges. However, these challenges helped me gain a great insight into human nature, and the propensity to view the cup half Empty rather than half Full. I learned that “wherever we go we can find something to complain about”. If we travel, we can complain about lumpy beds, bad food and crowded train stations, etc. If we stay home, we can complain that we never go anywhere interesting and there’s never anything good on television.
In the Japanese language there is a term “On”. The meaning of “On” often includes a sense of gratitude combined with a desire to repay others for what we have been given. It’s not just that we feel grateful, or that we express our gratitude, but that we actually experience a sincere desire to give something back. We might think of it as appreciation that stimulates a sense of obligation. Not an externally imposed obligation, but a sense of obligation that arises naturally within us as we recognize how we have been blessed, supported and cared for by others.
Over the years, the roof over our parish hall has had severe problems with leaking. Through it all God’s people were faithful in their donations and fund raising activities. With that and special gifts from the Diocese of Montreal Anglican Church, and an inheritance from an Estate we were able to fix the roof. Therefore, I would like to take this opportunity on behalf of Church Council and myself and say “Thank You” to all members and friends of St. Ansgar Lutheran Church far and near who have made this journey possible. Thank you for your faithfulness and support over all these years.
God is good, and so far, this past year 2014 has taught me personally that “gratitude” is a muscle that either withers or grows strong, and that flexing it on purpose always changes me for the good. The prophet Jeremiah got it right when he writes “For I know the plans I have for you, declares the LORD, plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future.” Jeremiah 29:11
A spirit of gratitude gives us insight into the principles that help create an authentic life of servitude and offer us clear and straightforward methods for helping to wake us up to the care, support and gifts that make our own lives possible. Is the cup half Empty or half Full? I will let you decide.
God is hidden in the ordinary routine events of our life – our practice of gratitude will bring God to our sight and in so doing bring to others and ourselves a better world. Thanks be to God, for God is good.
And let us not grow weary of doing good, for in due season we will reap, if we do not give up. So then, as we have opportunity, let us do good to everyone, and especially to those who are of the household of faith. Galatians 6:9-10
And God's peace, which is far beyond human understanding, will keep your hearts and minds safe in union with Christ Jesus.
Your friend and pastor,
Pastor Samuel King-Kabu
Life from the ground OR life from the rooftop?
Our choice isn’t it? Our perspective. Think on how you view life, are you doing it from an ant’s view or a giraffe’s. When we are down low we can’t always see what is above. Think of when you were little and you tried to see a parade go by and all these big people were in your way. You just couldn’t see. How frustrating was that! Then you grew up and became a 18-wheeler trucker. Different perspective on life, wasn’t it. Next time the parade was coming through town, you and your children could just be sitting in your truck watching it all go by. Well, a new year is here and I think our perspective may have changed. We are a stronger group, in number and financially and I bet this can change the perspective of many people.
You may not feel like the ant anymore. Besides, being pretty low on the totem pole, unless you are the queen ant, you are working darn hard. I wonder if ants feels like there is no respite for them. But being a biologist I can safely say they probably don’t have that level of consciousness. So the ant keeps on doing its’ thing and isn’t looking at its’ life from its’ own perspective. It’s only those with a more evolved neurological system that can evaluate their life as such. Don’t get me wrong I actually have great respect for ants. If a man could run as fast for his size as an ant, they would be able to run as fast as a racehorse. I think we have all heard over the years that ants can lift up to 20 times their own body weight. Most species are highly structured and well disciplined as a society. Ants are clean and tidy and they even have some workers that take out the trash and put it in the dump. Impressive, no? It just becomes less impressive if you are not content being an ant and want to be the giraffe who has his head in the sky reaching up for the leaves. Man, you would never see an ant doing that! But let’s get back to us, the more neurologically evolved, maybe we aren’t always where we are supposed to be and that gets in the way and our perspective shifts. So, where do you stand, do you know and is it where you ought to be?
Rosemarie Grabs, Editor
Web Page prepared by:
Roger Kenner & Jette Blair.
Content-New Topics Last Updated: 2015/06/25
St. Ansgar's Lutheran Church - Montreal