beWARM

As Thanksgiving  (my favorite holiday) approaches, I realize that abundance comes in different flavors.

We will spend this day of gratefulness in Nagaland, India on an MMI eye project. I would imagine that our yearnings for  stuffed fowl would be a distant thought once we begin our work there.

It is our hope that the efforts of our eye team will bring visual bounty to the villagers where we will set up our clinic – a joyful repast of a different sort.

Not to say I won’t miss the intoxicating smell of roasting turkey, the ample assortment of  delicious accompaniments, and – most of all – the love and laughter shared at the table.

How fortunate we are to live in the land of plenty!

In celebration of this precious holiday, I would like to share this writing that a friend sent me many years ago.

As we revel in the heavenly flavors of food – and life – let us vow to embrace the cornucopia of hopeful and positive attitudes.

And…be sure to chomp some turkey and stuffing for me…

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Fast from judging others; feast on the Christ dwelling in them.
Fast from emphasis on differences; feast on the unity of life.
Fast from apparent darkness; feast on the reality of light.
Fast from thoughts of illness; feast on the healing power of God.
Fast from words that pollute; feast on phrases that purify.
Fast from discontent; feast on gratitude.
Fast from anger; feast on patience.
Fast from pessimism; feast on optimism.
Fast from worry; feast on divine order.
Fast from complaining; feast on appreciation.
Fast from negatives; feast on affirmatives.
Fast from unrelenting pressures; feast on unceasing prayer.
Fast from hostility; feast on non-resistance.
Fast from bitterness; feast on forgiveness.
Fast from self-concern; feast on compassion for others.
Fast from personal anxiety; feast on eternal truth.
Fast from discouragements; feast on hope.
Fast from facts that depress; feast on verities that uplift.
Fast from lethargy; feast on enthusiasm.
Fast from thoughts that weaken; feast on promises that inspire.
Fast from shadows of sorrow; feast on the sunlight of serenity.
Fast from idle gossip; feast on purposeful silence.
Fast from problems that overwhelm; feast on prayer that undergirds.

~William Arthur Ward (American author, teacher and pastor, 1921-1994.)