Poquonnock Bridge Baptist Church

“Blessings at Year’s End”
Written by the Rev. Dr. Howard Thurman

I remember with gratitude the fruits of the labors of others,
which I have shared as a part of the normal experience of daily living.

I remember the beautiful things I have seen, heard, and felt –
some, as a result of definite seeking on my part,
and many that came unheralded into my path,
warming my heart and rejoicing my spirit.

I remember the moments of distress that proved to be groundless
and those that taught me profoundly
about the evilness of evil and the goodness of good.

I remember the new people I have met,
from whom I have caught glimpses of the meaning of my own life
and the true character of human dignity.

I remember the dreams that haunted me during the year,
keeping me ever mindful of goals and hopes which I did not realize
but from which I drew inspiration
to sustain my life and keep steady my purposes.

I remember the awareness of the spirit of God
that sought me out in my aloneness
and gave to me a sense of assurance…
that undercut my despair and confirmed my life
with new courage and abiding hope.

As the new year begins, filled with both hopes and fears, with both possibilities and realities, and as I write the most unusual Annual Report for church that I have ever had to write, I want to thank all of you…for your labors of love that have had no end; for beautiful things I sought after, and those that just came my way; for meaning and dignity, for inspiration and purpose. You have warmed my heart and rejoiced my spirit; you have brought calm assurance to my loneliness, solid courage to my living; you have sustained my dreams and kept steady my path.

These are my blessings as the new year begins. “I try to count them - they are more than the sand; I come to the end – I am still with you.” (Psalm 139) Happy Epiphany…Pastor Claudine