"Grateful" by Tasha Whitton

VERSE OF THE DAY

You, my brothers and sisters, were called to be free. But do not use your freedom to indulge the flesh; rather, serve one another humbly in love.

~Galatians 5:13

The Parable of the Spoons is an old story, sometimes attributed to Rabbi Haim of Romshishok. It has been told many times and goes something like this. Once there was a woman who was nearing death. Her family gathered around her in order to be close when she drew her final breath. As her breathing slowed, her loved ones were surprised when her eyes flashed open and she shared that she had seen a vision.

She explained, “I was in a long hallway, and I opened a door on my left. Inside were long tables set with every sort of food imaginable. It was like a crawfish boil with meats and sides and desserts piled high. I moved forward hoping to get a bite of the feast, but then I noticed that all of the people in the room looked shrunken and near starvation. As I looked at them more closely, I saw that every person had a long spoon attached to each arm. So, it was easy to reach the table and get food into the bowl of the spoon, but when they tried to make the journey to their mouths, the food fell off. The faces of each

person were twisted in an agony of hunger, rage, and pain. I shuddered and moved back into the hall.”

Her relatives moved closer, fascinated by her story. She continued, “Back in the hallway, I took the next door to the right and was surprised to see the scene nearly duplicated. Here were the tables and the long spoons, but the faces of the people glowed with warmth, love, and tenderness. How was this possible? At that moment, I watched entranced as a young man approached the table, spooned a serving of jambalaya, and offered it to a child sitting across from him. All up and down the table, people were feeding each other, laughing, and talking.”

This story is often used to relate the difference between heaven and hell, but it serves equally well to remind us of the difference between enough and not enough. Have you ever noticed that when you limit your resources to yourself and focus on what you do not have, there never seems to be enough? Do you find yourself grasping for a time when you will have something, getting there, and then realizing that something else is missing? Instead, why not begin a daily practice of gratitude and generosity and see how the way that you think about the same resources changes?

PRAYER PRACTICE:

Dear God, help me to be grateful for what I have and always see it as enough. Amen.

THINK ABOUT IT:

Make a list of everything you are grateful for today. Put it somewhere you will see it like on your mirror or desk at work. Add to the list as you think of things throughout the day.

Written by Tasha Whitton