Monday, March 12, 2012

Dear God,

Each day I determine what it is I believe about you.  I decide whether or not to believe you are real, if you are directly related to each human in the cosmos, and if prayer connects people more closely to you.  I make the choice whether or not to believe in hope, in miracles, and in the practicality of faith.  Then I go about my day looking for evidence.  Interesting, I never thought about a life with you just exactly this way before.

Yesterday morning as I processed down the aisle with the church choir during the first hymn in the worship service, the thought came to me that you are the great filler.  The great filler?  Yes, you fill in the cracks in people's lives. 

Since I served this particular community of faith for ten years and my husband served it for eighteen years, I know the stories of many lives.  I remember how you filled a number of parishoners with love and many more with grace.  Several you filled with hope and a great number with forgiveness and the ability to move forward in their lives.  There were a good deal of people who call Calvary home that you filled with courage, strength, and purpose.  Into each one you poured faith.

As the music ended and I stood in my place in the choir loft, I looked out over the congregation and realized that you had filled each person with something.  You had not forgotten even one.  I smiled and you smiled back.

Holy God,
Giver of All Good Gifts,
I come
to you
bearing the gift
of gratitude.
Every day
you give
so much
to us.
Let me
never fail
to be grateful.
Let me carry
the spirit
of thanksgiving
every day,
I pray.

Love, Andrea