God KNOWS the way

A King, who did not believe in the goodness of God, had a slave who, in all circumstances would say, "My king, do not be discouraged, because everything God does is perfect, no mistakes."

One day, they went hunting. Along the way, a wild animal attacked the king. His slave managed to kill the animal. However, he could not prevent his majesty from losing a finger.

Furious and not showing any gratitude for being saved, the King said, "If God was good, I would not have been attacked and lost my finger."

The slave replied, "My King, despite all these things, I can only say to you that God is good, and he knows the why to all things. What God does is perfect. He is never wrong!"

Outraged by the response, the King ordered the slave to be imprisoned.

Later, while on another hunt, he was captured by savages who believed in human sacrifices. While on the altar, ready to be sacrifice, the savages found that the victim had a missing finger. Not suitable for human sacrifice, he was released. According to them, the King was not completely whole to be offered to the gods.

Upon his return to the palace, the King immediately authorized the release of his slave. When facing the slave, the King said in an affectionate tone, "My dear slave, God was really good to me for I was almost killed by the wild men. Because of the lack of a single finger, I was let go. However, I have a question. If God is so good, why did he allow me to put you in jail?"

The slave smiled and said, "My King, if I had gone with you in this hunt, I would have been sacrificed for you, because I have no missing finger. God is perfect."

Thanks 365

 

We all know that this is the time of year to celebrate Thanksgiving.  But do we know that we can and should celebrate it more often? Not just annually, or monthly or weekly or even daily. We should and must give thanks for every moment in our lives.

Meister Eckhart, the 14^th Century theologian and mystic, famously said:  “If the only prayer you ever say in your entire life is ‘thank you’, it will be enough.”

Thankfulness is the beginning of gratitude.

Gratitude is the completion of thankfulness.

Thankfulness may consist merely of words.

Gratitude is shown in acts.

So when we act out of gratitude, we are indeed on a higher spiritual path.

Melody Beattie noted: “Gratitude unlocks the fullness of life. It turns what we have into enough, and more. It turns denial into acceptance, chaos to order, confusion to clarity. It can turn a meal into a feast, a house into a home, a stranger into a friend.”

In this season of gratitude, remember what counts. Not the feasting or the gifts, but a simple act of gratitude can go further than a whole sleigh full of goodies.

--Alan Batten for Unity of Charlotte

Everything is just an illusion anyway

There was a time when I was so overwhelmed and distraught by conditions in my life-- over which I had no control --that I actually lost big chunks of my waking hours. 

In fact, I don’t remember days or even weeks during that time. 

My marriage was falling apart—truth be told, it was over.  I took it very hard.  I was very young and very hurt and emotionally devastated. 

I had a seven-year old to care for and because of my emotional state, wasn’t capable of caring for myself, let alone a seven-year old.

However, I didn’t think I had a choice in the matter. 

After all, there was a child depending on me.  I carried on, went into what you might call auto-pilot for the sake of my daughter, and existed in a sort of half-life for a while. 

Finally, one day, while walking to work, I heard a bird singing. 

Then I noticed flowers that were growing in gardens along the way, and realized the sun was shining and the sky was blue. 

 My sepia-tone world was transformed to Technicolor. 

 I felt like Dorothy entering the Land of Oz.  As emotionally bruised and battered as I still was, I had a rather enormous realization.  Awakening from my pain in such a beautiful way was truly a blessing.  After a time, I realized I was doubly blessed, and that sense of gratitude has stayed with me ever since.

Recently, someone reminded me of how important it is to give thanks even when you think you have nothing to give thanks for. 

 Hearing this, reminded me of a time when I did just that.  I gave thanks for awakening to life.  I was in pain and I gave thanks anyway and I continue to give thanks every day. 

It’s been 40 years since my divorce.  I’m still grateful for my awakening. 

I’m a relatively new student in The Course in Miracles, but anyone who has studied that course knows it teaches that everything is just an illusion anyway.  The only thing that’s real is love. 

Love leads to forgiveness. 

Love leads to gratitude. 

God is love and love is all there is. 

That old saying, “We’re spiritual beings having a human experience” is much easier to say than to live.

And, because I can be categorized in that statement, sometimes the going gets tough for me.  When that happens, I remind myself to keep it simple and bring it back to gratitude. 

Whatever is happening in my life I say to myself, “embrace it and be grateful anyway . . . forgive yourself and be grateful anyway. . . love yourself and be grateful anyway”.  Wake up in the morning and be grateful . . . go to sleep at night and be grateful. 

 Whatever is happening in your life right now, whether you see it as good, bad, beautiful, or ugly, love yourself, forgive yourself, and be grateful anyway.

Lesson . . . I am much stronger than I ever thought possible, and I am blessed with the awareness of all of God’s blessings.

Thank you God; thank you God; thank you God, and so it is.

---Kate Morgan for Unity of Charlotte