Saturday, November 27, 2010

Much Obliged


Dear Friends--I was reading my e-mail the other day, trying to catch up. I came across this blog by another UM pastor. I have read Steve's blog for a number of years and always find his reflections helpful. Because we have been focusing on being thankful and experiencing the gift of generosity, I thought that you all might enjoy reading this as well. This blog is re-posted with Steve's permission. If you like what you read, you might go to the link I've included and check it out for yourself--he sends his blog by occasional e-mail.

Much obliged myself to Steve...and to all of you!

MUCH OBLIGED

Like most parents, I taught my children to say "thank you" 
frequently and hoped that giving thanks might become a life habit. 
After all, silent gratitude isn't much use to anyone. But I think 
that what I hoped to teach them was not simply to say thanks, but to 
feel it. I believe that thankful people are happy people.

The late Dr. Fulton Oursler used to tell of an old woman who took 
care of him when he was a child -- a woman who not only expressed 
her thanks, but felt it. Anna was a former American slave who, after 
emancipation, was hired by the family for many years.

He remembered her sitting at the kitchen table, her hands folded and 
her eyes gazing upward as she prayed, "Much obliged, Lord, for my 
vittles." He asked her what vittles were and she replied that they 
were food and drink. He told her that she would get food and drink 
whether or not she gave thanks, and Anna said, "Yes, we'll get our 
vittles, but it makes 'em taste better when we're thankful."

She told him that an old preacher taught her, as a little girl, to 
always look for things to be grateful for. So, as soon as she awoke 
each morning, she asked herself, "What is the first thing I can be 
grateful for today?" Sometimes the smell of early-morning coffee 
perking in the kitchen found its way to her room. On those mornings, 
the aroma prompted her to say, "Much obliged, Lord, for the coffee. 
And much obliged, too, for the smell of it!"

Young Fulton grew up and left home. One day he received a message 
that Anna was dying. He returned home and found her in bed with her 
hands folded over her white sheets, just as he had seen them folded 
in prayer over her white apron at the kitchen table so many times 
before.

He wondered what she could give thanks for at a time like this. As 
if reading his mind, she opened her eyes and gazed at the loving 
faces around her bed. Then, shutting her eyes again, she said 
quietly, "Much obliged, Lord, for such fine friends."

Oursler was deeply influenced by Anna's uncanny ability to always 
find some reason to be "much obliged." This wise woman taught him a 
secret that many people have never learned: she taught him how to be 
happy.

-- Steve Goodier www.LifeSupportSystem.com
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