Be Mindful of the Gift
In These Times
In these times...we must be mindful of the gift In these times...use our hands and hearts to lift The fallen spirit in this land Planting flowers in the sand Reaching out a helping hand In...these...times
“In These Times” is a song about some huge national problems—greed, environmental destruction, and a dysfunctional politic—a critique that could be applied to the civic life of many countries countless times throughout history, but in this Thanksgiving Week 2023 its message fits the needs of the U.S.
In 1863 in the midst of civil war, Abraham Lincoln issued the proclamation that made Thanksgiving a national holiday for communal gratitude, but today for many of us the celebration is limited to a family feast that begins a holiday rush. Our gratitude lists, written or remembered, are mainly personal, and our sense of national participation most likely happens through watching the Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade and a football game—not exactly what Lincoln had in mind.
But what I hear in “In These Times” is an emphasis on a communal thanksgiving that leads to action: “We must be mindful of the gift” and “use our hands and hearts to lift / The fallen spirit in this land . . . .” The gift, which I take to be life itself, is little recognized in a culture that turns the created world, including human beings, into commodities. If more of us regarded life as a gift, we would sense our connection and interdependence, recognizing that having received, our natural response is to give.
The third verse suggests that all of life comes from Love that dwells in all of creation.
In everything that's living there's a promise of a Love Planted in the seeds below and in the stars above We must listen to its message; become faithful stewards of These times…
If you are familiar with Noel’s songs, you know that when he capitalizes “Love,” he is referring to the source and sustainer of all life, indeed of the cosmos. If we are mindful of the belovedness of all creatures, great and small, the implications for ethical living are huge. We will respect and honor all created beings of sacred worth and use our gifts and resources to be “faithful stewards” of our shared life on this earth.
The gardening imagery in this song reminds me of the work of environmental ethicist and theologian Norman Wirzba who calls God “the primordial and essential Agrarian—the One who creates and sustains the world by planting, gardening, farming, and shepherding life.” Wirbza argues that is also the human vocation—to honor the gift of life by taking care of the garden that is our home. I loved reading Wirzba’s The Agrarian Life, and I recommend it, but if you prefer a poetic rendering of some of its message for your busy Thanksgiving week, here it is
In these times...we must be mindful of the gift In these times...use our hands and hearts to lift The fallen spirit in this land Bringing water to the sand Reaching out a helping hand... In...these...times
Connections
i thank You God for most this amazing day:for the leaping greenly spirits of trees and a blue true dream of sky;and for everything which is natural which is infinite which is yes ― e.e. cummings (first verse)
“Our goal should be to live life in radical amazement… get up in the morning and look at the world in a way that takes nothing for granted. Everything is phenomenal; everything is incredible; never treat life casually. To be spiritual is to be amazed.” ― Rabbi Abraham Joshua Heschel
“Gratitude is not about stuff. Gratitude is the emotional response to the surprise of our very existence, to sensing that inner light and realizing the astonishing sacred, social, and scientific events that brought each one of us into being. We cry out like the psalmist, ‘I am fearfully and wonderfully made!’ (Ps. 139:14).”
― Diana Butler Bass, Grateful: The Subversive Practice of Giving Thank
Photo by Alora Griffiths on Unsplash
Vibrations
It’s been only a month since I’ve posted “In These Times,” but its lyrics are so fitting, universal, and vital that it bears repeating.
Resonance
I’ve shared how “In These Times” resonates with me thisThanksgiving. I’d like to hear how it resonates with you. How are you “mindful of the gift,” and what does your gratitude lead you to do?
Love that living beneath our means is in this song! That practice is guaranteed to instill gratitude as well as a means to faithfully give back “water to sand”, plant gardens and flowers, and lift the fallen spirit. Love, love, love the spiritual challenge of faith in action that the song implores us to enact!!!!! The reward of following that course is Thanks-Living indeed!
Hi there Jeanne and Noel..
Dee DeLoy here.
As a very longtime blessed friend and artist of Noel's, I always want to jump up on a bandstand and announce to everyone around what a good and terrific man and friend this fellow is. We have known each other since I graduated college around 1978 and how interesting that, after listening to Peter, Paul and Mary on my radio ever since I was a wee little lad, we would actually meet over a caricature I did of he and a guitar named Sabastian. Through many concerts backstage and wonderful collaborations with music and artwork my life has been enriched by the gifts that the Lord has given to my friend Noel. At times the creative and unique ways he has communicated through word and verse has frankly gone over my head and I have to revisit some songs he's sung and letters that he has written me over the years. But Noel has inadvertently caused me to push further , think a little deeper ( that is a feat for me indeed) and to get up on Mt. Perspective often to see things in a different way. There are times that we have not seen everything eye to eye but even that in itself is a gift because as one bard wrote, " if everyone thought the same there wouldn't be a need for but one. ".
Ever since Noel recorded In These Times, when I hear it sung, I am so moved that I have to stop and really reflect on what is being said and as I get goose bumps I always realize that I may be one but I AM one... and that coupled with believing and living in God's will and promises, amazing things can happen. I remember a tremendous little lady named Ann Kimmel who was a writer and speaker for years and she used to always start her public speaking with, " Hi. I'm Ann, and I'm out to change my world." Then she would point out into the audience and say " You watch, you wait, you'll see."
Those kind of statements and the ones that Noel makes in this song just rises something up in me like the foam overflowing a mug of root beer!! God indeed is perfect LOVE and if we all would embrace Him and the gifts He created and purposed for each one of us, there's no telling what huge and awesome changes could happen In These Times. Thank you Noel for listening to the One true Creator and Master of all music and using the gift He gave you to bless many. May we all seek the Lord's wisdom, mercy and grace to bring changes to this land as well as to the world that He entrusted to us not only for mankind's benefit but to say THANK YOU and give praise to the Giver of all gifts.