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Nov 23
2007
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ThanksgivingPosted by steve sherwood in Thanksgiving, joy, Chesterton, beauty |
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It's Thanksgiving time. For a lot of us, that might not mean much more than food, football and getting up bizarrely early on Friday to go shopping. Still, I bet most of us have at least a moment or two where we stop and think about whatwe're really thankful for, perhaps even who we are thankful to.
English writer and Catholic, G.K. Chesterton said, "The moment of crisis for an athiest (and he had formerly been one) is to find oneself thankful, with no one to thank." There are plenty of things in the world to make us jaded or disillusioned: human suffering, the destruction of the environment, our wanton materialism, the ongoing behavior of Brittany Spears. There are certainly lots of reasons to question whether the universe is a good and welcoming place.
But still, there are these moments...For me, as a father, moments with my children where they sit on my lap and melt into me. Or moments of beauty. Driving around Portland (where I live), turning a corner on a clear sunny day and being awed yet again by Mt. Hood looming massively on the horizon 45 miles from town. Or sitting with friends and laughing so hard I think I'm going to hyperventilate. Or someone performing an act of kindness to me that I know really cost them something.
So, yes there is a lot of crap in the world. A lot to hint at despair. But there's also so much beauty. So much goodness and joy. Perhaps, there's a loving Hand behind it all after all.
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