Motivation Monday – Why Gratitude Cannot Be Silent
“There is joy, suffering, joy, suffering, and sometimes we don’t know whether to laugh or cry. But He continues to raise us to a new day to explore the profound depths of not only our humanity, but what it means to be made in His image. ”
I am writing this encouragement to you at the end of Canadian Thanksgiving weekend, and at the end of Thanksgiving Monday.
It is so much easier to keep the words in, fearful that that what I believe to be truth may just be interpreted by someone else as opinion, and that my opinions will be mistakenly taken for truth.
Fear is never an excuse for keeping words in that must be spoken today, this weekend and every day, from a voice that knows that every day is not an expectation, but a gift.
If this were my last day on earth, would I still be complaining about the state of the world, limitations on my personal freedoms, cancelled plans and tension among friends and family because of divisive opinions this cultural moment has created the perfect storm to breed?
Or would I be praising God yet again for a new day, a hard new day maybe, but a new day that in and of itself is something I did nothing to bring into being?
And what of a new day? A new day can bring the same old, same old, new covid stats, new restrictions or expanded capacities, warnings about Thanksgiving gatherings, or new ways to take it outdoors or celebrate virtually.
It is not the circumstances themselves, but the story you tell yourself and the world about your choice to respond to the circumstances, that will either blend your voice into the ever-widening shadows, or illuminate them, push them back and bring light to a dark world.
So today, and every day, I choose to say thank you.
I choose to say thank you in a strong enough, genuine enough real voice, with enough bravado in it, that the world hears me say it and it inspires even a weak thank you upwards in response.
God’s mercies are new every morning. His mercies are beyond our imagination, so we interpret them based on their validity for us in the moment. But we must keep the long game in view. His mercies are beyond finding out right now, but He will reveal ultimate purpose in both the promise and the pain when we can receive it.
We are finite. We are human. So of course there is joy, suffering, joy, suffering, and sometimes we don’t know whether to laugh or cry. But He continues to raise us to a new day to explore the profound depths of not only our humanity, but what it means to be made in His image. And that is what gives us hope. Because if we can breathe, we can hope. And if we can hope, we can be grateful.
Of all the things to be silent about, it should never be our gratitude.
If we are struggling (not if but when), it means we are human, and it means we are alive. It means that there is something to fight for that keeps us in the game. I acknowledge that for some the struggle is too much to bear. I pray grace over you.
I must say thank you for this life because that spoken gratitude keeps the door open for all that is to come. Even when I think I’m done, there is grace in a simple ‘thank you, anyway, for what I did not choose for myself’. And then the mercy of a new day dawns. And who knows what it will bring? Joy? Sorrow? I expect that somewhere hidden in the struggle is the promise of resurrection. And so I look for that glimmer of hope, like a watchman on the wall. Saying thank you in the waiting.
Thank you, thank you, girls for staying strong on your path. Don’t give up. I am grateful for you. And I say thank you. Would you say it too?
I believe in you!
Cathie