How great Thou art, how great Thou art…

by Susie Rynerson

“How great Thou art, how great Thou art…”

This hymn by Carl Gustav Boberg is one of my favorites. It starts with the low, calm, rhythmic recognition of God’s beauty and presence in the world, and then soars into a joyful refrain celebrating His saving power. It’s one of those hymns that practically moves me to tears just listening to it. Why is that?

Well, I love music, but it’s really the reflecting on all the goodness, love, joy, growth, harmony, and adventure that has come into my life thanks to God that is so amazing and humbling. Even in my most challenging of times, He was there. When I truly triumphed, it was because of Him. When I was alone, when I was surrounded by others, He was there. In the moments when I am truly aware of the magnitude of all of these things, I am speechless. And, I am irresistibly full of hope for the world and all people, independent of their culture, religion, or region.

I am so grateful that Mary Baker Eddy provides for a special Thanksgiving service at Christian Science churches around the world. They, too, have always been special to me. To see the pews full of families, to hear account after account of how each one’s year was full of blessings, progress and protection, to sing a host of other favorite hymns… that has always been a savory feast foreshadowing the upcoming afternoon’s festivities with my family and many of our friends.

However, I remember one Thanksgiving when I wasn’t sure how everything would turn out. I was living by myself in a foreign country, separated from my immediate family by thousands of miles and a nine hour time difference. It would be the first time I had ever been away from them during Thanksgiving. I knew no Americans in my area, and barely anybody in Spain even knew about the holiday, let alone celebrated it.

I didn’t know what to expect. Knowing that God had provided all the love and warmth of Thanksgiving before, and knowing that He would continue to provide what I needed just barely fended off an empty foreboding feeling. Then, as I explained to a group of friends who were studying Christian Science about the Thanksgiving Bible Lesson and the services that I loved so much, they scooped me up and decided to hold a special service and party.

It was a Wednesday evening. There were no other services planned that night, so we read the Thanksgiving Bible Lesson together. Every single person at the meeting gave a testimony. We didn’t sing any hymns because nobody knew the melodies, but it didn’t matter. My heart was singing. I felt completely surrounded by family. And, as soon as the service ended, food emerged. There was no turkey, but it didn’t matter. A flurry of unpacking produced Spanish cookies, pastries, cakes, salads, and drinks including the thickest, richest homemade hot chocolate I’ve ever tasted.

Aaaah, “how great Thou art, how great Thou art.” I am so grateful for the beautiful ways that God provides. I am so grateful that our dear Father-Mother is embracing every single one of His children, “…as one Father with His universal family, held in the gospel of Love.” I am grateful for Mary Baker Eddy’s promise that even where special observances of a particular holiday may not be held, “Gratitude and love should abide in every heart each day of all the years.”

And so, let me close with yet another one of my favorite hymns from The Christian Science Hymnal (No. 271):

Let every creature rise, and bring

Peculiar honors to our King;

Let angel songs be heard again

And earth repeat the long Amen.

Aaaaahmen.

This entry was posted on Tuesday, November 20th, 2007 at 10:22 pm and is filed under Gratitude. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response.