On this Thanksgiving day, we are each tasked with finding meaning in our life first by identifying what we are thankful for receiving, and then by conveying our appreciation for the gift, and for the creator of the gift.
Gifts come from others, and Thanksgiving is a time to honor not only the gift, but the giver, and the selfless act of giving itself. For me, the list of these is long. But one gift—that of life and all the blessings that comprise it—rises to the top.
One prayer captures the mystery and significance of the gift of life perfectly: Saint Augustine, from his autobiography “Confessions”, written in 398 AD and appearing in Book 10, Chapter 29. Translations vary, but I will do my best:
“I give thanks to you for your gifts my honor, my sweetness, my God. Keep and guard these gifts for me, and thus you will keep me. Then all that you have given me will become both increased and perfected. And I myself shall be with you, for that I am is also your gift.”