Happy Thanksgiving to all!

Walt Whitman once said: "I find letters from God dropped in the streets and every one is signed by God's name." Thanksgiving is one of those signed letters. Anyone can open it and see what it says. Our letter reads: "we must be a people who are absolutely grateful to God no matter what life brings." We give thanks for the incredible blessings of 230+ years of freedom and bounty in the US. We know we cannot take these blessings for granted. I can still remember my first Thanksgiving. I was 17 years old, my first year away from the Caribbean living with my uncle in Brooklyn. We went together for dinner at Mrs. Brown's house in Queens, NY. I can still smell our landlady's southern cooking and hear her words before the meal. She was a Baptist whose preaching can still send a chill up my bones. The Founding Fathers in Philadelphia in forging a new government, risked their very lives by signing the Declaration of Independence. Their dream would become the United States of America. In the words of Mrs. Brown: "they were not afraid to proclaim their beliefs. They put their faith in God, pledged their lives, their fortunes and their sacred honor." Gratitude is the lubricant to a call to new life. That new life 230+ years ago brought many blessings which we have received abundantly. That new life in 2011 is ours today as well. Blessings are another way of calling out the good, bringing out the best we see in each other. When we affirm the good; then, the good will thrive and blossom. Our early ancestors called out the good even when things were extremely difficult. In the Book of Job, we hear him finally ending his complaints.

       The moment is described: "All is as it ought to be. All is right."

       Yes, dear friends - all indeed will be right as we continue be grateful for all God's blessings this Thanksgiving!