Our Offering of Thanks and Praise

In this busy, stressful, competitive world of ours, we are focused on performance. What we do - and how well we do it - defines us. Or so we think anyway. We worry about what our friends, our familys, our neighbors, our bosses and a host of other folks think of us.

Thanksgiving is a time when we get to take a breath and realize that God does not judge us on our performance. God loves us simply because we ARE - each of us a unique creation reflecting "the image and likeness" (Genesis 1:26) of our Creator. This is where the heart of our thanksgiving prayer comes from - a realization that God loves us and gifts us with our talents, our livelihoods, our children, our homes, our food, etc simply because God LOVES us.

This coming Sunday, the 23rd, the Church School Chapel children will lead the congregation in the hymn All Things Bright and Beautiful when they come into Church. While Kim has been faithfully teaching the hymn for several weeks now, it will not come out perfectly. Little voices will stumble over words, little hands will flutter like birds as we sing about mountains and there will be one or two children who simply aren't paying attention. And none of that will matter. The children's singing is not a performance. It is an OFFERING - and that is something quiet different. The children are leading us in celebrating all the "bright and beautiful" things with which God has gifted us. They bring their voices and their hearts to the altar as an "offering of praise and thanksgiving," as the Book of Common Prayer names it. The need for perfection vanishes when thanksgiving is the purpose of the offering. God asks only for our grateful hearts; off-key voices, mixed-up words and shyness don't matter a bit. What matters is that they are offering back to God the love God has given them.

That is what each of us are asked to do every day. God neither expects nor requires perfection. God asks only for grateful hearts sharing love with others. So this Thanksgiving week, let the children lead you. Stop worrying about whether or not the turkey will be dry or if there will be enough mashed potatoes - come to your Thanksgiving table with a grateful heart. You will not leave empty.

Faithfully,
Elizabeth