On the Road to Give Thanks

  We plough the fields and scatter the good seed on the land,

but it is fed and watered  by your almighty hand;

you send the snow in winter, the warmth to swell the grain,

the breezes and the sunshine, and soft refreshing rain.

All good gifts around us  are sent from heaven above;

we thank you, God, O holy God, for all your love.

2 You only are the maker of all things near and far;

you paint the wayside flower, you light the evening star;

the winds and waves obey you, by you the birds are fed;

much more to us, your children, you give us daily bread.  R

                                   (This was our "old school" closing hymn in worship)

In a few minutes we'll head away to attend worship at Trenton United Church, half an hour down the road. I've already been to the gym  but this is important becuase I'm convinced that gratitude and God go together. I am grateful that I live in this country, as imperfect as it is, and I am grateful that we have weathered 19 months of the pandemic in much better shape than many other nations, including the prosperous ones. 

We have already seen our threee children and their partners, and our four grandchildren this weekend, and I love them all, dearly. God is good, and I need to be in a setting where I can express this. I also need to be reminded that as I have been blessed, so can I be a blessing to those who may not have the same reasons to be thankful. I'm not going to foster guilt. I want to be aware of the needs of others and of the planet. 

Yesterday we were in Peterborough and came upon a rally downtown with people waving Canadian flags and banners saying "Freedom!" They were anti-vaxxers who have the freedom  to express their views in this country. Just the same, they are creating a religion of selfishness and discontent which disappoints and angers me. I wouild describe it as a cult of ingratitude which is all the more poisonous on Thanksgiving weekend. I am reminded that I can't repay evil with evil

I better run, but thanks to all of you for reading this blog and for your comments along the way. I pray that you have a happy Thanksgiving, whatever form in may take,  with plenty of room for the Creator and the Saviour of the world.