"A tyrant ruled in a far-off land and had an ironclad grip over all parts of his kingdom, except for one frustrating area. He was unable to destroy the people's belief in God. He summoned his counselors and put the question to them: "Where can I hide God so that the people will end up forgetting him?"
One counselor suggested that God be hidden on the dark side of the moon. This proposal was debated for some time, but voted down because it was believed that one day scientists would discover a means of space travel and God would end up being found again.
Another advisor to the tyrant came up with the idea of burying God beneath the depths of the ocean floor. This was voted down for basically the same reason - it was felt that scientific advancement would lead to the discovery of God even beneath the depths of the ocean floor.
Finally the oldest and wisest of the counselors had a flash of insight. "I know," he said, "why don't we hide God where no one will ever think of finding him?" He explained, "If we hide God in the ordinary events of people's everyday lives they'll never find him."
And so it was done - and they say that people are still looking for God - even today."
I like this fable. I've had it in my files for years and I'm not sure where I originally found it. But it's appropriate at Thanksgiving time since during this season people do turn to "see God."
And when we are looking we usually find that God actually turns up in the simple, routine events of our lives. I notice that truism more clearly during the Thanksgiving season just because I'm more aware of our abundance this time of year. Watching for and finding God's hand in our everyday lives turns out to be a treasured gift in itself!
