The Eucharist is the great thanksgiving. Our worship centers around the communal act of offering thanks for the gift of life and all that God has given. Living thanksgiving invites us to be gracious for our lives; and be generous with our lives. St. Paul wrote, “I am content with little or an abundance and I am thankful for either.” Living simply with little can bring more joy then being a steward over much. This truth has been learned time and again by those who have lost much to discover a new sense of joy and freedom.
Christian spirituality has always designated the day as the foundational place in which we are instructed to live lives of faith, hope, and love. “Rejoice and be glad, for this is the day that the Lord has made.” “Do not worry about tomorrow, today is enough to hold to our attention.” I believe it to be a major theme in all healthy spirituality to focus our intention for spiritual growth “one day at a time.”
For the remainder of this season of Thanksgiving, consider your own conscious intention to “Give thanks in everything.” Simply being thankful for who you are, where you live, with whom you share life, for the resources in your life, for the work you do, for those with whom you work, for the food you eat, the hands that prepared it, and the miraculous gift that a day is. This spiritual exercise of simply saying, “Thank You,” for the day and all that fills it will be transformational.