We must know that God is dear, is there, is here, is near. We are what we have as well as what we want. For being is what we must be grateful for, for what we must thank God. Is our presence here haphazard, by chance or have we resulted from God will, his love. Are we among the most precious, indispensable parts of his design? It is not by our will that we are here. Our will could not have gotten us here nor is our will enough to keep us here. Nor can being desperate about tomorrow keep us here or keep us well. It is love which designed us, which desires that we exist, that we achieve our purpose and that we excel. Our job is to be, instead of always worried, without end grateful for the gift of life, of breath, for family, for friends, for community – ours as well as the whole wide world. Why do we worry so and fear so as long as we’ve been kept, still imagining that we’ve come this far, that we’ve lived this long [since Adam] by chance rather than protected by the almighty hand which shaped, which ordered the universe. We are believers in chaos rather than in order, in violence rather than in peace. Sick with fear of dying, fear of hunger, fear of poverty, fear of disaster – upon the earth trembling as if in a crowd upon a pin head, hungry, trembling, cold – waiting as if to fall off any minute. Though we are on solid rock, we live as if we were on a rocky sea, on a rocky boat, about to fall off, about to go under. How sure are we of God – his goodness, his greatness, his love? Do we believe in these – in God’s existence? Do we accept that anything, that anyone that might rise against us has been overcome even before the earth was formed? Whose side are we on: the love of God or on the side of the enemy? Are we our own worst enemy? Do we believe in love and victory or doubt and defeat? Instead of giving in to fear and chaos, let us stop and give thanks for feet and hands, for teeth and toes, fingers, elbows, knees, toenails, fingernails, eyes, ears, nose, skin, bones, palms of our hands, soles of our feet, legs, arms and for all the challenges we face knowing we have what is needed to withstand as well as to overcome whatever comes against us: sickness, death, whatever test. Mankind has survived until now and will go on and will not go under with so much to sing about, make hymns about. We need to learn to be grateful not only for the best days, not only for the best things, not only for our best friends but for our worst days, for our worst enemies as even these are given in love, with love and by love. Love knows better than we ourselves what is best for us. Too much pride is crushing us – is like a curse upon us – preventing us from knowing God as we should. Pride is like poison in us, making us forever unwell. Pride is a wall between our neighbor, our God and ourselves. We need to open ourselves to receive the love of God via whomever it is sent with thanksgiving forever on our breath. Instead of thankfulness, with grateful hearts, we wants pockets and purses full of money as if it were possible to purchase life, to purchase love, to purchase happiness. We want money so we’d not need to say thanks. But life is a gift and love is a gift, as free to us as air. We do not say thanks enough. We are not thankful enough for what’s greatest in this life – for what cannot be purchased. To appreciate eternal life it is necessary to appreciate and to be grateful for life on earth. Life, itself a blessing, is so very filled with so many blessings. Too often though, we’re busy hogging up life without blessing it – as if it were not blessed as if it were not precious. Everybody, give thanks, be grateful. Whoever you are, you’re part of the holy family of man. Wherever you are, wherever you stand, the ground you’re on is holy ground. To have a grateful heart is to be forever grateful. With grateful hearts we unveil what is imagined to be ordinary. Who has a grateful heart beholds the divine – always, everywhere and in everyone.

By Obediah Michael Smith as requested by Lennor Munroe. November 29, 2006 10:08 p.m.