Dear Spiritual Family,
Happy Thanksgiving! It is indeed the week of Thanksgiving, the holiday, and yet it offers so much more. This season can remind us to make the experience of “living thanks” a rich and consistent focus every day.
A natural outcome of deep gratitude for God, for the Holy Spirit, for Jesus and all of the unseen support that is constantly with us, is happiness and a clearer vision in how to handle life’s more difficult moments and people!
As I, Rev. Steve write this, I am in South Florida, offering support to my older brother, Bo. He has moved through more difficulty than most in this lifetime. His body is weary from war wounds and years of hard, physical labor. And yet with all that he has going on, he still gathers the strength and intention to help others who are also struggling with life’s challenges. It has been a gift to witness this in our time together.
Our family is also very grateful for his loving wife, Adriana, who brings such light to his world and thereby ours.
Mary’s older brother, Troy, in Arkansas has also been dealing with a great many health issues with a recent longer than expected hospital stay. Her loving encouragement along with that of his family, closer by, helped him stay the course. And now this much happier and very dear man is moving through physical rehab in a highly supportive facility with hopes of reuniting with his wife in time for Thanksgiving!
It occurred to me as I waited for time with my brother’s claim representative at the V.A., to feel deeply grateful for what this organization has done for Bo and so many others, including myself, over the years. There, on his behalf, I expressed this sentiment to his advocate and as I did, I could immediately sense the Light of Spirit in the room. With his assurance of support for my brother, I left there with tears of gratitude.
Likewise, when Mary would speak with Troy, especially in his more strained moments of upset and physical challenge, she would turn his attention to all the people praying for him and for his continued ability to touch the lives of his nurses and doctors. Finally, the breakthrough came. Thank You, Father.
If we can remember, if we can do our best, to live from an attitude of gratitude, grounded in Spirit, then we are so much better equipped to make a loving difference in our world – to see past appearances to the good that waits to be seen and experienced.
Please, pause for just a moment, and feel our gratitude and abiding love for you, dear Beings.
Happy Thanks-Living to you,
Rev. Steve and Mary