Posts Tagged: welcoming outsiders
“Betty’s Song”
There is a wonderful lady at our church named Betty. She was one of the first people to make us feel welcomed to the church when my wife and I were very much outsiders. She, along with the pastor’s good sermons, is one of the main reasons we are attending this church.
Betty also invited us to her home group. Often at our home group meetings, she leads us in a song that I had never heard before I heard her sing it. It is a lovely song. Of course, it does not hurt that Betty has an excellent singing voice.
Here are the lyrics:
“In the morning, I thank You for the breath that I have
The new strength, the good hope, Your light on my path
In the morning, I thank You for the life that I have
The blessing, the family, the roof on my head
In the morning, I thank You for everything that I have
Thank You, Lord, thank You
You are kind and good to me
Thank You, Lord, thank You
Thank You for everything that I have
In the evening, I thank You for all the things of this day
The sunshine, the moonshine, they shine on my path
In the evening, I thank You for the love that I have
The blessing is so amazing, it covers my heart
In the evening, I thank You for everything that I have
Thank You, Lord, thank You
You are kind and good to me
Thank You, Lord, thank You
Thank You for everything that I have
Thank You, Lord, thank You
You are kind and good to me
Thank You, Lord, thank You
Thank You for everything that I have
Thank You…”
It is a simple song, as most really good songs are. Giving thanks for the every-day blessings and for the obviously (??) special blessings is a very important thing to do. The two question marks after the word “obviously” are because blessings are not always so obvious. At least, they are not always obvious to me.
A roof over my head is not to be taken for granted. One estimate is that about half-a-million people are homeless in the richest country in the world. I will leave it to you to guess which country this might be. And, of course, there are many countries which have a much higher population of homeless. I say it again: A roof over my head is not to be taken for granted.
Then, there is sunshine and moonshine (not the beverage). This morning, when I took the dog out, there was a cold half-moon gracing the morning. It was so beautiful that it made my heart ache with joy.
God’s love, kindness, and goodness are an eternal source of gratitude. At least, they should be. Family, also, is not to be taken for granted—no matter how irritating or evil they may be at times. (Naturally, I myself am never irritating or evil.)
One final thought is this: I think that the reason Betty is able to be such a welcoming person is that she is so thankful. Gratitude has many wonderful benefits. One of them is that it makes us more welcoming to outsiders. Who knows? Gratitude might even help us to welcome the outsider that is ourselves.
DOWN TO EARTH BELIEVER
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