Finneran: Lord, For These Many Things I Am Grateful

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Friday, November 28, 2014

Tom Finneran, GoLocalWorcester MINDSETTER™

Americans need Thanksgiving. So blessed are we in the history of the world that it is as if God himself ordained a holiday, as a test, just to see if his people would gather in thanks.

And we do so gather, each to his own quiet thoughts and joys, each to her own memories and treasures, happily in the boisterous midst of family and friends.

Let’s start with the big three blessings---life, health, and freedom.

Once upon a time, many moons ago, there was little need to note that life is precious. It was so obvious, so instinctive, so splendid and so special that it needed no elaboration. Perhaps it was the constancy of death in the human experience---from childbirth, from hunger, from disease, from war---that life in all its forms was seen as a blessing. How curious that in our sophisticated age---freed from many of the age-old risks and dangers---we seem to have become callous in our regard for the gift of life. Read any history which captures the human journey and you will be stunned by the frequency of death. Raise your eyes from those histories and ponder the Pope’s grave and timely words about our culture of death, a culture which measures and evaluates certain lives as worthy or unworthy. We are not livestock. All life is tender, all life is precious. Celebrate life and give thanks for the gift.

Good health is the greatest blessing in any life. Some wise man, or more likely a wiser woman, made that remarkably simple observation. Was she ever right. Illness, disease, loss of mobility, loss of sight, and loss of mind are frightening to behold and they rob us of many joys. The rhyme and reason of who is blessed with good health and who is not so blessed escapes me, but if you are healthy, give abundant thanks for the gift.

Freedom of course is not free. In fact the price is exacting and expensive. Our freedom has been purchased with bodies and blood. Tears and toil too. Too many of us, myself included, give it too little thought. Simply because it’s always been there, we’ve taken it for granted. And because others made the purchase, we rarely acknowledge and probably will never appreciate its full value. To practice and to enjoy America’s constitutional freedoms puts one in rare historical company. For many thousands of years, many millions of people have died from the shame and shackles of tyranny. Blessed are we, the very few in history’s ledger, who enjoy the great freedoms of speech, of worship, and of association. When you offer your family’s prayer at this year’s Thanksgiving table, remember those who wear the uniform. Their vigilance and their service allow us to sit in peace at table.

Many other gifts and blessings surround us---consider the gift of children and of course the grandest gift of all, grandchildren. Just to watch them grow, and read, and run is worth a king’s ransom. I am of course madly in love with our seven miracles. I give thanks.

How about the gift of music? From Beethoven and Mozart to Wilson Pickett’s “Mustang Sally”, music and musicians add a delightful dimension to our lives. Give thanks.

Teachers and priests should take a bow on Thanksgiving’s stage. Doctors and nurses too. Police officers and firefighters deserve our applause and our thanks in their devotion to their sometimes thankless tasks. There’s high regard here for elected officials and their families, who sacrifice greatly in pursuit of good government, oft times suffering the slings and arrows of the public arena. Give thanks.

As each year passes I cherish more and more dearly a beautiful sunset, a foaming green Cape Cod wave, fried clams, vodka gimlets, Bruins’ playoff games, and a good round of golf with friends. Flowers in bloom, birds building nests, and my very own tomatoes fresh off my home-grown vines are the gems of summer. And of course the seasons themselves here in New England, from wacky and wonderful Winter through and to the stunning sights of Fall, those seasons delight our senses and stir our souls. Give thanks.

Lord, for these and all of your countless blessings, I give thanks.

Tom Finneran is the former Speaker of the Massachusetts House of Representatives, served as the head the Massachusetts Biotechnology Council, and was a longstanding radio voice in Boston radio.

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Related Slideshow: Thanksgiving Day: Where to Dine Out in Central MA

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