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The purpose of saying grace is to give thanks.
What are we thankful for and to whom are we saying thanks?
Well, we are thankful that the Royal New Zealand Ballet has
been performing now for 50 years. So this is a special celebration.
We are also thankful and celebrating the wonderful 45 years
that Jon and Jacqui Trimmer have been associated with our
ballet company. They met when they joined the company in 1958.
The next year, Jon went off to London, to the Royal ballet
company, and returned in 1962. The next year, 1963, on the
26 October Jacqui and Jon were married …SO today we
are celebrating with them the 40th anniversary of their wedding
day.
So we want to say congratulations, and we want to say thank
you for the years of dedication and sacrifice and labours
of love that you have given and to thank you for the joy you
have given to so many audiences, and for the inspiration and
encouragement and support you have given to dancers with whom
you have had contact.
So often we never know how we have affected the lives of
the people we have touched. And how often are we guilty of
forgetting to thank the people who have been special to us.
I want to share with you something that was given to me
by a friend.
One day a teacher asked her students to list the names
of the other students in the room on two sheets of paper,
leaving a space between each name.
Then she told them to think of the nicest thing they could
say about each of their classmates and write it down.
It took the remainder of the class period to finish their
assignment, and as the students left the room, each one
handed in the papers.
That Saturday, the teacher wrote down the name of each student
on a separate sheet of paper, and listed what everyone else
had said about that individual.
On Monday she gave each student his or her list. Before
long, the entire class was smiling. "Really?"
she heard whispered, "I never knew that I meant anything
to anyone!" and, "I didn't know others liked me
so much." were most of the comments.
No one ever mentioned those papers in class again, She never
knew if they discussed them after class or with their parents,
but it didn't matter. The exercise had accomplished its
purpose. The students were happy with themselves and one
another. That group of students moved on.
Several years later, one of the students was killed in
Viet Nam and his teacher attended the funeral of that special
student. She had never seen a serviceman in a military coffin
before. He looked so handsome, so mature.
The church was packed with his friends. One by one those
who loved him took a last walk by the coffin. The teacher
was the last one to bless the coffin.
As she stood there, one of the soldiers who acted as pallbearer
came up to her. 'Were you Mark's math teacher?" he
asked. She nodded: "yes." Then he said: "Mark
talked about you a lot."
After the funeral, most of Mark's former classmates went
together to a luncheon. Mark's mother and father were there,
obviously waiting to speak with his teacher.
“We want to show you something," his father said,
talking a wallet out of his pocket. "They found this
on Mark when he was killed. We thought you might recognize
it."
Opening the wallet, he carefully removed two worn pieces
of notebook paper that had obviously been taped, folded
and refolded many times. The teacher knew without looking
that the papers were the ones on which she had listed all
the good things each of Mark's classmates had said about
him.
'Thank you so much for doing that," Marks mother said.
"As you can see, Mark treasured it.”
All of Marks former classmates started to gather around.
Charlie smiled rather sheepishly and said, "I still
have my list. Its in the top drawer of my desk at home."
Chuck's wife said, "Chuck asked me to put his in our
wedding album."
"I have mine too," Marilyn said. 'It's in my diary."
Then Vicki, another classmate, reached into her pocketbook,
took out her wallet and showed her worn and frazzled list
to the group. "I carry this with me at all times,"
Vicki said and without batting an eyelash, she continued:
"I think we all saved our lists."
That's when the teacher finally sat down and cried. She
cried for Mark and for all his friends who would never see
him again.
The density of people in society is so thick and we get so
busy with our living that we forget to tell people that are
special to us, how much we appreciate them. We do not want
to be guilty of such, and we say to you, Jon and Jacqui, that
you are special and important to us.
And maybe amongst the memories we all take from this celebration,
will be the desire to tell the people you love and care for,
that they are special and important to you.
Underlying life, with its love, generosity, selfless caring
and undying efforts there is a great spirit that inspires
and encourages us. We may give that spirit various names,
we may call it God. So finally, let us give thanks to whoever
our God may be.
I invite you to give thanks:-
- To your God who was there at the secret, quiet moments
of conception, when the self which is in each of us was
created, and a 1000 other possibilities turned away.
- To your God who sang a murmuring song to you in the nurturing
closeness of the womb; who watched you with joy as you grew
and moved and became strong and aware and ready for birth.
- To your God who called you on that first great journey
into light, who breathed into you the breath of life; who
has spoken to you through parents, children, friends, and
enemies.
- To your God, who does not leave you even in your darkness
when you have lost the way home.
- To your God who calls you again and again to new adventures,
new stairs to climb, new questions to ask, new people to
love.
- To your God who is in bread and sunshine, and parties,
and in children and in the dancers of our ballet company.
AMEN
SO IT IS.
So now make your thanksgiving and let us celebrate.
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