Abundant Hearts
Lloyd D. Newell
At
this season of autumn and harvest, we count our many blessings and give
thanks.
Our thoughts turn to a thanksgiving and harvest
festival celebrated four centuries ago by Pilgrims and Native
Americans.
You're familiar with the story: The Pilgrims, new to this land, had
survived their first winter in the New World; they had worked hard
building homes and cultivating crops; and they were at peace with their
Native American neighbors. The harvest festival would be a time
of
thanksgiving shared by the colonists and the Native Americans who had
helped them survive. Had the Pilgrims been more self-centered,
they
might not have celebrated a day of thanks. Or they might have
forgotten
the generosity of the Native Americans and not invited them to the
festival; they might have hoarded their harvest and closed their
hearts. Instead, with open and thankful hearts they welcomed
their
neighbors to their tables of plenty.
This model of fellowship can inspire us today. A truly grateful
heart is an abundant heart that breaks down walls of estrangement,
builds bridges of understanding, and opens doors of friendship.
At
times it may seem easier to turn inward, to keep others at a distance,
to withhold our time, our means, and our hearts from others. But
that
can lead to unhappiness, to animosity, to smallness of heart.
When we feel grateful, our hearts overflow with good feelings for
others. Rabbi Harold S. Kushner writes of a man whose small plane
crash-landed but who was fortunate enough to escape before it burst
into flames. A reporter asked him what was going through his mind
as
the plane neared the ground. His answer revealed the abundance of
his
heart: “I realized I hadn't thanked enough people in my life." [1]
Before another opportunity passes, let's open our hearts to others,
count our blessings, and give thanks.
[1] In The Lord Is My Shepherd: Healing Wisdom of the
Twenty-Third Psalm (2003), 154–55.
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© 2006, Jace Carlton. All International Rights Reserved.
