As Thanksgiving Day, nears again for those of us in America, I find myself reflecting on all those for whom and all that for which I am thankful, past and present. While doing so my thoughts lighted upon one whom I was blessed to know as teacher, mentor, and friend. Today I share with you first, a few words from pastor and professor Gerhard E. Frost and then, a reflection of his entitled “Let Us Give Thanks,” which is included in his collection, “Blessed Is the Ordinary.”

“If one accepts each day as a gift from the Father’s hand, one may sometimes hear a Voice softly saying, ‘Open it!’ I invite you to share with me in these little appointments with myself as we try to unwrap the hidden beauties in an ordinary day.” Gerhard E. Frost

Let Us Give Thanks

Let us give thanks this moment:
for the sturdy fact of God’s continuing love,
for mercies which go before us
and follow after us,
for those free gifts
which cost God so much.

Let us give thanks:
for memory and expectation,
for the good that we have known
and know today in Jesus Christ,
for the Spirit’s brooding presence
in our nights and in our days.

Let us give thanks:
for pleasures which comfort
and pains which force our growth
and keep us at the Shepherd’s side,
for deep meanings revealed
and mysteries, mercifully concealed
for the image of God within us,
the capacity to inquire and adore.

Let us give thanks for one another,
for just being together,
for differences which complement and complete,
for gifts which enrich
and for disagreements which challenge,
for our oneness in Christ.

Let us give thanks for melody and mirth,
for rhythm and beat,
for the repeated and the common,
for the ever-unfolding,
and for senses with which to respond.

And let us give thanks for Someone to thank.

Pastor Lamont