God's gifts in our hands

On Monday many of us made a point to peer into the sky at the  "Supermoon," during those hours when the full moon, in its slightly elliptical orbit, would be at its closest point to the earth, closer to the earth than it had been since 1948, and closer than it would be for until 2034. Some of us had telescopes and studied the craters we could see more vividly than usual; some of us simply stood outside in the darkness, absorbing the visual gift. Either way, we were doing what we don't always do - giving our full attention to something we see every day, seeing its beauty differently, thinking, perhaps, about the many other people, miles away, who were sharing that sight with us.

This coming week we'll be celebrating the Thanksgiving holiday, also a time to take a look at gifts of life we see every day - growth and labor; harvest and meals; friends and family and neighbors; and see them differently, more fully. As we savor a bite of food, a conversation, a prayer, in thankfulness, we see a truth we don't always acknowledge - that these common things that sustain us are gifts, not of or own making, but are from God. And if they are God's gifts in our hands, well, then, they are meant to link us to all the people of God's creation.

We'll be celebrating Thanksgiving in our worship services this Sunday, and in the Downers Grove Ecumenical Thanksgiving Service Tuesday evening at 7:00 at St. Andrews Church. May the celebrations continue as we gather with others this week, to see the wonder of  "God with us" as we see more fully, and more thankfully, what is in front of us every day.