Hope this finds you surrounded by your favorite friends and relatives and satiated with turkey, dressing, yams, pumpkin pie and all that good stuff.

It’s always seemed ironical to me that the holiday, Thanksgiv-ing, set up probably as a substitute for Christmas, by the Puritans, has become the opening of the Christmas season. And who would have it otherwise?

Even if a holiday, or holidays, were not needed to cheer us in our long, cold winters, we are so assaulted by reports of tragedy, warfare, and chicanery that we stand in need of an antidote.

I’ve had a long and, for the most part, happy life. When things seemed to go wrong, it was always helpful to remember how much I had for which to be grateful. The church of which I am a member celebrates only one holiday with a special service, Thanksgiving.

One of my favorite hymns is a Thanksgiving hymn, probably sung, also, in other churches. Some of the words are: &uot;This is the day the Lord hath made/ Be glad, give thanks, rejoice/ Stand in His presence unafraid/ In praise lift up your voice.&uot;

Also associated with Thanksgiving are lines from an old Celtic table grace. After returning thanks the prayer goes on with the words, &uot;And if there be anyone on the road, hungry or thirsty, please direct his path to us, so we can share with him this food.&uot;

A week or two ago I was on my way to Clear Lake, Iowa. You may remember that Sunday. There had been a heavy frost and the trees were white and sparkled in the sun. I’m not fond of winter, but the sight of those trees against an incredibly blue sky, filled me with the joy of just being alive.

The name of the female pendant, whose last words as she lay dying, escapes me, but her words I remember: &uot;It has all been very interesting.&uot;

To those who find life a blessing, life is always interesting. When I count my blessings the fact that every day holds my interest is at the top of the list. I am thankful, too, for friends, for parents I loved and respected, for work I enjoyed, books, music, and a sense that God’s in His heaven and whatever the material evidence, the government of the universe, is in His hands.

Gratitude is always more evident in actions than in words. I think, though, that one of the most poignant expressions of gratitude I’ve encountered, was voiced by the late Helen Keller.

Stricken by a childhood disease, Keller lived in darkness from an early age and was unable to hear the voices of her friends throughout her life. In her autobiography, though, she writes:

&uot;For three things I thank God every day of my life: thanks that he has vouchsafed me knowledge of His Works; deep thanks that he has set in my darknessaa the lamp of faith; deepest thanks that I have another life to look forward to &045; a life joyous with light and flowers and heavenly song.&uot; &045; Helen Keller, &uot;Story of My Life,&uot; 1905