From the Pastor

She was just a young woman, a wife for a few years with a little son in tow and another on the way. Tired of the many wars which swept across Europe all too frequently, she and her husband had decided that they needed a fresh start in the New World. Never again would they see their relatives and friends. A small trunk contained all that they could bring, only their most precious belongings, including a porcelain plaque carefully wrapped for the journey. Written in their native German, the plaque reads in English, “Be content with what God has blessed you. Don’t worry about the things you don’t have.” My wife and I now have that plaque in our living room, for the young woman who came to the United States over a century ago was my wife’s grandmother.

In his Church Dogmatics, theologian Karl Barth wrote, “Grace and gratitude belong together like heaven and earth. Grace evokes gratitude like the voice an echo.” More than just a concept or proper etiquette or a special day, giving thanks is an attitude which should permeate a person’s life because so does God’s love. If gratitude doesn’t fill us, then even the most eloquent thank you note rings hollow. Without an attitude of thanks, a person’s life all too easily becomes one long political ad, filled with sarcastic critiques about how bad everything is with no plan about how to change anything for the better.

While in prison for his faith, St. Paul wrote, “Do not be anxious about anything, but in everything, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God” (Philippians 4:6). Paul wrote with an expectation that God was with him no matter what his circumstance, giving him what was needed for the day. As a result, Paul’s life resonated with joyful thanksgiving.

Typical of many immigrants, my wife’s grandmother gave thanks for what she had while seeking an even better life for herself and her family. When her children came home from school each afternoon, the first thing they had to do was to sit down at the kitchen table to teach Ma everything they had learned that day, from English to math. Her children grew up with solid educations which led to productive occupations. Her grandchildren all graduated from college, something which may have seemed impossible to everyone but this woman filled with an attitude of thanksgiving.

More than just for a day, I pray that your life is filled with an attitude of thanksgiving whatever your circumstance. We can be content with what God has blessed us, and not worry about the things we don’t have, for God’s never-ending love is for each of us, too.

Paul E. Kritsch, Pastor