Giving Thanks at Thanksgiving

Some cold and crisp wintry night put on some warm clothes, go outside, and look up at the sky.  As you notice the stars, you may find yourself trying to identify the constellations, find a shooting star, or seeing if you can locate the North Star.  But when your mind quiets down, you might just catch a glimpse of one of the most profound lessons in life which is this:  LIFE IS BIG…AND I AM SMALL!

We so easily get this mixed up.  Many of our thoughts circle around how we think life should be for us.  We become preoccupied with making enough money, getting the right guy to ask me out, driving a car that people will notice, losing the last 5 pounds, or the misery of the flu.

One of my favorite movies is “Joe Versus the Volcano”.  The best scene is when Tom Hanks finds himself on a makeshift raft floating in the middle of the ocean with the woman he loves (Meg Ryan, who is unconscious) and very little water.  Instead of drinking the water himself, he tenderly coaxes her to drink. In the middle of the night an enormous Moon rises out of the water as bright as day.  Parched to the point of death, Hanks staggers to his feet and then falls to his knees and says, “God, thank you for the gift of life” before collapsing.

This is the lesson of Thanksgiving.  LIFE IS BIG…AND I AM SMALL!  It isn’t about me…and it isn’t about you.  Escaping my focus on myself, I may catch a glimpse of the gift of life and the privilege of getting to experience it.  When I do, I will give thanks for the good and the bad, the easy and the hard, the fun and the painful, the victories and the defeats, the pleasure and the suffering.  This is the secret of life, and it is amazingly beautiful.  Give thanks for life.

Happy Thanksgiving.