 |
|
“Generations of Generosity: Behold I am Doing a New Thing” by Ken Horseman
I don’t know about you, but for most of my life I really had no concept of God actively present and working in my life. Oh, sure – I knew God was “out there”. But I didn’t know that, in reality, He was “in here”. Thanks be to God, I’m in a very different place today. We’re interesting creatures, aren’t we? If we took some time to look back on the various stages of our lives more often than we do, maybe it would be more obvious that God is at work in and through us. Through times of joy and tragedy, we are molded and shaped by events and circumstances that appear to be random, but I believe in reality are all part of God’s plan. Anne Tyler’s novel Back When We Were Grownups begins with, “Once upon a time, there was a woman who discovered she had turned into the wrong person.” Life is never just the way we think it was going to be or should be. The victories and mistakes made along the way – the good decisions and the bad – take us to a place that we probably never envisioned. Perhaps it’s a better place, perhaps not. But it’s definitely a different place. Linda Douty in How Can I See the Light When it’s So Dark? writes, “When life fails to conform to our projection, we often seal ourselves off from God’s surprises.” She adds, “We simply don’t see them.” How true -- and how sad. God has surprises that are beyond our ability to know, if we’re just able to get out of our own ways, slow down, listen and look for them. I’m reminded of the Confederate Soldier’s Prayer that says, I asked God for strength, that I might achieve, I asked God for health, that I might do greater things, I asked for riches, that I might be happy, I asked for power, that I might have the praise of men, I asked for all things, that I might enjoy life, I got nothing that I asked for Almost despite myself, my unspoken prayers were answered. Found on the body of a Southern soldier
This “new thing” isn’t always fun. We ask, “Where is God?” in the face of the suicide bombing, the death of a child, and the ravages of natural disasters. “How can this be God’s plan?” we cry when the world’s injustice rears its ugly head. As Linda Douty teaches again, I believe, too, that we are called to be thankful in all circumstances, but not necessarily for all circumstances. “All things work together for good for those who love God.” (Romans 8:28) Though we may not be able to be grateful for those dark nights, through God’s grace we can be grateful in them. We are on a journey to a grateful heart, a journey fueled by God’s grace in our lives. I have found that the more I’m able to be grateful, the more I want to say “thanks” for the work that God is doing in me. I have also learned that gratitude begets gratitude, and that having a grateful heart is one of the keys to the divine harmony. It fits into the sacred pattern in ways that I believe may be beyond our feeble ability to comprehend – but I believe that it is an absolute key to our ability to grow in relationship to Christ. How is God creating a “new thing” in you? I commend this exercise of contemplation to you as we approach our annual every member canvass, the theme of which is an extension of last year’s commitment campaign, “Generations of Generosity: Behold, I am Doing a New Thing”. Douty’s insights into gratitude again are profound. She says that while gratitude is sometimes a thank you for something specific, it is most deeply realized through a grace-filled process that simply happens. Author John McQuisten’s enlightening book, Always We Begin Again cites the wisdom of St. Benedict’s rule.
The first rule is simply this: live this life and do whatever is done, in a spirit of Thanksgiving. Abandon attempts to achieve security, they are futile, give up search for wealth, it is demeaning. quite the search for salvation, it is selfish, and come to comfortable rest in the certainty that those who participate in this life with an attitude of Thanksgiving will receive its full promise.
How are you called to respond to the “new thing” in you? What stories do you have to share about God’s grace in your life? It’s an exciting time, and I look forward to hearing about them. God bless. |