I Just Glued The World Together

In the middle of my 4th grade class this morning, I received this text from my mom: “I just glued the world together.” I smiled.

When I got a chance, I responded, “Hooray!  Now we’re all safe! ”

She said, “I do feel more secure .”

Wouldn’t it be nice if it were that easy, friends?
Wouldn’t it be nice if we could take everything that’s disjointed in the world, turn it into a puzzle, and then work with those we love to put it all together in a way that makes perfect sense and creates a perfectly beautiful picture?
And yet we know it’s not that easy.

From terrorist attacks to
unjust wars to
cancer diagnoses to
sudden death to
broken relationships to
overdue bills to
shattered dreams to
feeling abandoned by God.

There isn’t a lot of security in those things.
There isn’t a special glue that can be applied to life to help hold all things together.
Or is there?

…

I won’t see my Thursday and Friday classes next week because of Thanksgiving break. In preparation for Thanksgiving break, I’m sharing a book with many of my students entitled, “Giving Thanks.” [They’re fascinated by the fact that the title is Thanksgiving reversed!] The book is an illustrated version of a Native American Good Morning Blessing. It is a blessing that the children of certain tribes, to this day, are taught to pray.

Because Native American (or American Indian) culture is so deeply rooted in nature, it is no surprise that the book acknowledges thanks to everything from rain to food to the sun and the moon. Today, after we finished reading the book, I asked my students to consider: How might each day change if we greeted every part of it with thanksgiving? I’m not sure that most students really got the question, but I got it. Do you?

…

Friends, I don’t begin to pretend that greeting each day and situation with thanksgiving will magically make everything in life better.
Giving thanks will not stop terrorist attacks and unjust wars;
It will not cure cancer or prevent sudden death;
It will not heal all broken relationships and pay overdue bills;
And it will not mend shattered dreams or magnify God’s never-wavering presence.
Yet…
It will change the heart and mind.
And it will remind us of Love.
And Love is secure.
And combined with thanksgiving just might be the glue that holds the world together.