On God letters

In my own shorthand, for my perpetual lists, that's what I called my letters to leaders on subjects I felt called to write about to promote peace and justice.  I used to write regularly to my representatives in Congress, the President, the heads of state Amnesty International asked me to write to, and my representatives in the state legislature.
Replies were predictable and rarely satisfying. 

Still, especially in these days of email and online petitions (which I sign frequently), a single letter has value.  Even if the response is rote, the decision makers tally the letters.  More than 5 letters (of the non-formletter type, the truly personal ones) constitute grassroots clamour, a true groundswell.

So I should keep on with the God letters, even though it's a chore.  And so should you!  

Last Christmas I derived great pleasure from writing big checks to charity.   I wonder if I could also derive pleasure from writing God letters?   I wonder which has great impact, my voice or my money? 

Money is finite.  Voice, like love, is infinite.   I guess I should use the gift of language for good, and exercise those marvelous First Amendment rights more vigorously. 

And so should you.  Let's clamour for peace and justice!  Let's make a groundswell of public support!

Peace, y'all

Molly

Say Grace

I am grateful my family has a tradition of saying grace for dinner. We don't manage it for lunch or breakfast, which we don't often eat together. But we do nearly always eat dinner together. We join hands and have a few seconds of silence. Into this silence I have learned to pour out intense and efficient thanks, because neither my husband or daughter are as reverent as I, and often the silence is much too quick for my liking. So I very quickly thank God for the food, my health, the wealth that brings us food whenver we want it, the wealth to eat off china in a beautiful room with hardwood furniture and a gorgeous rug, and to buy the lovely light fixture that the empty china plate reflects. In fact I look for that reflection as a visual cue of what I can be thankful for.

Then I think about the incredible love and life the meal represents--all the workers who added value to the food, the families they love and support, the energy of the sun, the force of life....well I can't usually get all that into the few moments of grace, but I try.

Gratitude is a great practice. It's hard to be unhappy when you are feeling active gratitude. The habit of giving thanks is very wonderful. The idea of pausing before plunging into the joy of dinner makes the dinner a little better.

And I love that our grace tradition is solid enough that our guests know it and expect it, and even practice grace our way when we are guests with them!

Grace is good.