Penna Dexter

We’re officially in the holiday season. Christmas decorations are popping up, especially in the places where we shop. Lots of families, pressed for time, are already getting a jump on Christmas decorating. Not mine. I savor Thanksgiving. In my home the pumpkins and gourds, the oranges and golds dominate until Thanksgiving day is done. On that first Thanksgiving, at Plymouth, the first permanent settlement in New England, the Pilgrims celebrated their very survival. Of 103 Pilgrims who arrived there from England in 1620, 51 died the first winter. After the first harvest, Governor William Bradford proclaimed a day of Thanksgiving and prayer. God had provided and the Pilgrims were grateful for the bounty. I am grateful for the freedom we have as citizens of the United States of America. I am grateful that freedom means something and we have a Constitution and Bill of Rights under which freedom can grow and reign. We must not take our freedoms for granted. May God grant us the vigilance to protect them. The women of my church gathered over a meal one evening to “ring in the holidays.” After dinner, our pastor addressed us. What we really wanted to know was how to get through the season without buckling under the pressure. Our young and wise pastor really gets it that, most of the time, it’s women who make the special family and social things happen at Christmas — the Christmas hospitality, the decorating, the gift-buying and the traditions are often mostly our responsibility and it can be stressful. Every year I vow to get things done early. But on Christmas Eve day, I’m usually wandering a mall looking for last-minute gifts. It felt at first like our pastor was adding something to my to-do list when he encouraged us to practice spiritual discipline during the holidays. He said: “Pay attention to what’s going on in your heart.” For me — 5 days before Christmas — in my heart there’s a pity party. I’m wondering: why is there so much extra stuff to do when my heart longs to focus on the reason for the season. So what about spiritual discipline — being a disciple? The pastor said the posture of a disciple’s life is one of gratitude. In teaching us how to practice this, He took us to Luke 17 and the ten lepers Jesus cleansed. Only one turned back to thank Him. So first, we acknowledge we have been given a gift that is unmerited. Pure grace. The lepers raised their voices and said, “Jesus, Master, have mercy on us! Second, like the one who returned, we receive the grace and remember to thank Him. Open your eyes at Christmas time. You will see a million graces. The third part of gratitude is declaring who the gift-giver is. Name Him. Consider your relationship with the Lord. Give thanks. Believing saint. In practicing the virtue of gratitude, we’ll observe a holy advent.