by Evan Mehlenbacher
In the USA, where I live, Thanksgiving Day is celebrated every November. I love this time of year because it reminds me to be grateful to God for all the blessings I have received and witnessed.
There have been times when material things were listed at the top of my gratitude list. Like the first time I had a car to drive to work instead of a bicycle. Or the time I had enough money to rent my own place and move out of my parent’s home. Those were exciting events for me.
Over the years, though, I’ve learned not only to be grateful for temporal things that make everyday existence easier, but even more importantly, to be grateful for the spiritual awakenings that make life a joy to live.
For example, this morning I headed down the driveway to get the newspaper. I left in a big rush like I had to hurry and get somewhere before it was too late. Part way down the hill I realized it wasn’t necessary to run. I slowed down and protested, “What am I racing for? Life is in the now, not in the future.” I decided to enjoy the walk by living in the present instead of dashing to a spot where life would be no different. The rest of the jaunt was very enjoyable as I expressed gratitude to God for the capacity to be content in the moment without having to be somewhere else first. I caught a small glimpse of what true thanksgiving is all about.
As I pondered the spiritual lesson learned, I thought about how often many people sprint through life, trying to earn more money, get more things, acquire fame and position, and fail to enjoy the goodness of God along the way. I’ve been guilty of this sin myself. We might get the things we seek, but if we’re not experiencing peace of mind and feeling heavenly love during our adventure, we’re missing out on the best life has to offer.
This Thanksgiving season has reminded me that some of the most important events in life are the spiritual lessons we learn and joys we gain. Life is so much more than power, promotion, and items accumulated. Life is Spirit, or God, experienced in the form of love, spiritual mindedness, and peace in the “now,” independent of time or geographical place.
Mary Baker Eddy wrote in Science and Health, “When we realize that Life is Spirit, never in nor of matter, this understanding will expand into self-completeness, finding all in God, good, and needing no other consciousness.” The Apostle Paul described some of the riches of Spirit when he wrote, “The fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, longsuffering [patience], gentleness, goodness, faith, meekness, temperance [self-control].”
When I raced to get the newspaper, I was not living. I was rushing mindlessly. The end result would have been a paper in hand, but with no improvement in how spiritual I felt. When I slowed down, prayed a bit, and thanked God for the moment I was in, I still got the paper, but came back home inspired, too. I was a better person for this experience.
Spiritual awakenings might seem like small things in our life, but they’re not. They are often the big things. They are ever-expanding blessings that lead to long term progress and enduring joy. This year, I’ve decided to be extra grateful for them.
Have you had any spiritual awakenings recently to be grateful for?
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I think we all need to slow down and be grateful for the small stuff. Thanks for the reminder.
it’s hard not to rush around when you have so many things to do. and i guess I do get on auto-pilot a lot.
I’m going to try to focus on the spiritual stuff mroe because it seems to have helped you.