Image from thecollegecrush.com
An Attitude of Gratitude Gives Us a Higher Altitude
From Luke 17:11-19: On the way to Jerusalem Jesus was going through the region between Samaria and Galilee. As he entered a village, ten lepers approached him. Keeping their distance, they called out, saying, "Jesus, Master, have mercy on us!" When he saw them, he said to them, "Go and show yourselves to the priests." And as they went, they were made clean. Then one of them, when he saw that he was healed, turned back, praising God with a loud voice. He prostrated himself at Jesus' feet and thanked him. And he was a Samaritan. Then Jesus asked, "Were not ten made clean? But the other nine, where are they? Was none of them found to return and give praise to God except this foreigner?" Then he said to him, "Get up and go on your way; your faith has made you well."
Thanksgiving 1963 was one of the most somber days in my life. The country has just witnessed the killing of a sitting United States president, and that act may have caused the heart attack and death of my aunt, Paulina Martinez, or "Tía Nina" as we called her. She was my grandmother's sister and really my Dad's aunt, but we grew up calling her our aunt and she was well-loved by us. She lived and died in McAllen, Texas, and her funeral was in La Havana, TX, where she and my grandmother were raised. Our Thanksgiving meal was held in the roadside part of US 281, just north of the checkpoint. We pulled over at lunch, and Mom brought out white bread and baloney and I think, cheese. There may have been potato chips, and drinks of some kind. She made the declaration, "This is our Thanksgiving meal for this year!" I think my Dad might have laughed; the kids not so much. I, being the oldest, protested, "This cannot be our Thanksgiving meal! We don't have a turkey, or dressing and all the other foods that you make on this day!" I don't remember their response, but I do know that the next day we had that meal with all the fixing's.
In thinking about the significance of Thanksgiving, it is all about giving thanks to God. It is a national day of gratitude. And in thinking about gratitude I realize that in having a grateful attitude, you're lifted above the petty, above the griping and grumbling of dissatisfaction, to the realm of the spiritual; it is a connection with God, Who supplies and shares all things. In today's gospel passage, it was a foreigner, who was lifted above the attitude of It's about time!, to woah, I am well. It was that attitude that allowed him and only him, to return to Jesus, and with a loud voice, to praise God, and then to fall prostate before Jesus and thank Him. It was this act of gratitude that made him, and only him, completely well. The others may have had their skin disease removed from their bodies, but the hearts were untouched by this act of God's love.
Don't let the pettiness of things barricade your heart from seeing and connecting with God and all that God has done in your life. Rise above the griping and grumbling, and connect with God in a manner that makes you completely well, heart and all.
PRAYER: Lord, for all You have provided, Thank YOU! For making me well in all things, Thank YOU! Let me tell others about what You do in a loud manner that blessed You and Yours. In Christ Jesus I pray, amen.
Have a great and blessed day, and may tomorrow's celebrations be truly a day of Giving Thanks!
Happy Thanksgiving!
Eradio Valverde
