That Place of Gratitude

While waiting at the optical shop I couldn't help but peruse the celebrity lifestyle magazine on the desk nearby.  A quick scan of the articles had me somewhat annoyed at a celebrity quote wherein she feels very blessed to be experiencing life from a place of gratitude.  My first thought was that it is easy to be in a place of gratitude with all that material success, a life with no financial worries, help with the kids, and housekeeping, everyone catering to your every whim and the time to exercise two hours a day!  Okay, even if I get to that place of gratitude I don't think I could exercise for two hours a day LOL.  So that gut reaction tells you the tenth commandment is my stumbling block and that charity is a virtue I need work on :-)

The more I thought about this "place of gratitude" the more I got to thinking about life.  It brought to mind stories of those who carry heavy crosses, those who valiantly plow through everyday with only a sliver of faith and a "fiat" borne out of hope.  I thought of moments in my own life when I could hardly manage a cry for "help" let alone a word of thanks. Is (my) gratitude limited only to seasons of plenty?

At Mass yesterday, an Augustinian friar talked about his missionary life in the Andes.  He spoke about this five-year-old boy who came to him begging for food. Each day that the boy showed up the priest gave him bread.  After a few days, he decided to follow the boy to see where he is taking his food.  It turned out that the boy had a two-year old sister to whom he gives this food, they are orphans.  I have a five-year-old and a two-year-old...I can't imagine.  I needed to hear that and so did my children. 

Since these mission areas are remote they only have the Sacrament of the Eucharist once or twice a year (that's a whole 'nother blog entry).  When he arrives at the villages there is a feast prepared for him. At the suggestion of keeping the food for their own families, the people feel insulted.  They tell him this is their way of thanking God. They thank Him when they have food and thank Him when they do not because He is God, He gives them all that they have. Gratitude in seasons of plenty and want.  I needed to hear that.

I have lived a very comfortable life for more than 20 years since leaving the Third World.  I have grown very accustomed to not being poor, not even in spirit. These little inconveniences that grate at me are not always for a lack of personal culpability.  But in God's mercy, He never abandons even through sin and ingratitude. God is faithful even if we're not. 

While the temporal comforts appeal to me, the gratitude from want and sacrifice is really the place to be.