Thanksgiving Faith

3 We thank you then, O Maker,
for all things bright and good,
the seed-time and the harvest,
our life, our health, our food;
accept the gifts we offer
for all your love imparts,
and, what from us you long for,
our humble, thankful hearts.  

All good gifts around us
are sent from heaven above;
we thank you, God, O holy God,
for all your love.

We Plough the Fields and Scatter VU 520

At the gym yesterday morning I had a brief chat with Mike, a guy in his 70's who is there pretty much every day. A few years ago we realized that his congregation, St. Joseph's Roman Catholic church, and mine, Bridge St. UC, were both involved in the Syrian refugee project. Mike, a retired teacher, and his wife were active in the project which brought 23 members of one family to Canada. 

I've discovered that Mike is a devout Christian in the gentlest of ways. He attends worship six days a week and finishes his workout so that he can get to 8 AM mass four out of five weekdays (the priest takes Thursdays off.) Mike brings along articles he likes which are inspirational and once he brought a copy of Desiderata (I wrote about that before.)

 There is a fair amount of grumbling at the gym, often justified, as others offer opinions about politics and the economy. Sometimes I participate but not Mike.

Mike will often smile and suggest a word for the day, always positive. Yesterday it was "gratitude" in honour of Thanksgiving. I don't know Mike's last name or much else about him but the world is a better place because of him, it seems to me. I'm certainly grateful that he's around.

Happy Thanksgiving to you all. We'll be in church this morning and Mike will be as well, I'm sure, because we're grateful for God's manifold blessings in our lives. I hope there is room for God in your gratitude today and tomorrow and every day.