11. THE BEST VERSION OF MYSELF: THANK

Sunday, March 10th

Read Matthew 15:32-38 (copied below).

Follow Jesus…

Jesus takes a meager portion of fish and bread, thanks God, and then generously feeds the crowd of people. This story, considered one of the miracle stories, is shared several times throughout the gospels and certainly holds important lessons for us. The story encourages us to be willing to share what we have, even if our contribution seems small. The story demonstrates the compassion of Jesus, shown in his concern for the people who came to listen. Today I also notice how Jesus thanks God for the small gifts of bread and fish, and in doing so, finds he has plenty to share.

To be the best version of myself…

In her book, Simple Abundance, Sarah Ban Breathnach quotes Melody Beattie:

Gratitude unlocks the fullness of life. It turns what we have into enough, and more… It can turn a meal into a feast, a house into a home, a stranger into a friend. Gratitude makes sense of our past, brings peace for today, and creates a vision for tomorrow.¹

The act of thanking God serves much more than being gracious and polite; our lives also are enriched. I find that when I thank God for Jim and other dear ones, I see and cherish them as precious and holy blessings. When I thank God for each new morning, the ordinary day becomes a fresh bonus gift of life to embrace with joy. When I can muster up gratitude for my trials, they can become holy opportunities to deepen in trust or gain new insights. When I thank God for anything–food, health, sunshine, laughter, home–I more readily see my life as a miracle story, too.

For the world.

God, Infinite Love,
Thank you for this world–all of it. Thank you for everything. Deepen my appreciation for every good gift and expand my generosity to share what I can. This life and this world are holy, valuable, and wondrous. May I always regard and treat them as the miracles they are. Thank you.

Our reading for Tuesday (12th) is Mark 10:13-16.

¹Breathnach, Sarah Ban. Simple Abundance: A Daybook of Comfort and Joy. Warner Books, 1995.
Photo by Karen, watercolor painting by my dear and talented (late) father. The window scene brings memories of abundance at my grandmother’s house, memories for which I am thankful.

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Matthew 15:32-38 (NRSVUE)

Then Jesus called his disciples to him and said, “I have compassion for the crowd because they have been with me now for three days and have nothing to eat, and I do not want to send them away hungry, for they might faint on the way.” The disciples said to him, “Where are we to get enough bread in the desert to feed so great a crowd?” Jesus asked them, “How many loaves have you?” They said, “Seven, and a few small fish.” Then ordering the crowd to sit down on the ground, he took the seven loaves and the fish, and after giving thanks he broke them and gave them to the disciples, and the disciples gave them to the crowds. And all of them ate and were filled, and they took up the broken pieces left over, seven baskets full. Those who had eaten were four thousand men, besides women and children.