On my University of Texas office door a few years ago sat a cartoon (until someone ripped it away) depicting two Pilgrims sitting across from two Indians. One of the Indians is saying, "Rumor has it you're from the religious right." That cartoon was (might as well acknowledge this) an in-your-face reminder to hostile colleagues who think that Christians who gain a place at a state university should be thankful enough to be silent about God.

The cartoon, though, also reminded me of mutuality: Friendly natives showed needy settlers how to grow food for the body, and Christians offered fresh food for the soul. These days, volunteers at Thanksgiving meals for the homeless often pass out food without really talking with the eaters, but true interaction can often help both sets of individuals: Men and women in the gutter can learn to step heavenward, and the helpers can see with their own eyes how God changes people.

After all, affluent people with changed hearts often remain the same in outward appearance, but it's a pleasure at Christian missions to see men who used to sit in vomit-soaked stupor now dressing cleanly and singing hymns. And that's a reason for deep thanksgiving: All of us were in a stupor at one time, and God has changed the hearts of many of us. May He change many more.