To Give Thanks - A Spoken Word

It is no small thing

to hold gratitude in a year like this, where everything feels stretched thin and the space between

us and God feels so thick.

I’ve heard fear humming at front doors, while anxiety makes the bed as if their names are on the mortgage or the rental agreement.

“Give thanks to the Lord, for God is good, and God’s steadfast love endures forever.”

“How’s that working for you?” says the voice that will not let me go. I thought it was love that was supposed to hold on like that. 

Instead, what stalks are policies that bruise communities,

and the reports of people disappearing into systems that do not know their names.

And yet, we are still here;

breathing, choosing to gather, daring to hope in a time that punishes hope and continues to

scope 

out where a good dream is hiding that it might crush it.

“Give thanks to the Lord, for God is good, and God’s steadfast love endures forever.” I insist,

even as the sound of terror persists 

and tries to snuff out my witness.

Gratitude, in days like these, is defiance that goodness is still growing

in places where we forgot to look.

Mercy still finds its way through cracks, because

compassion still has a pulse.

And though the space between us and God feels thick, I can tell that it is an illusion because

Goodness is still growing and God has not stepped away from the work of holding this world.

Yes, the world trembles.

We see the suffering of migrants

who cannot sleep without listening for footsteps.

We see families living in the shadow of violence

and communities worn thin

by hatred, lies, and the slow grind of injustice.

“Give thanks” says my soul.

“Nah, nah, nah boo-boo” says the shadow of death and despair. And the tears fall – easily, 

in torrents, loudly, sometimes quietly, 

always incessantly, until I fall asleep on the bed that anxiety made.

Give thanks, because there is something in us

that still refuses to die.

and keeps rising again

even when grief tries to bury it. Grief, you wretched wretch! Is that what you were doing in my backyard - burying my hope? You wretched wretch.

Thanksgiving still reaches for kindness

when cruelty feels easier.

and believes that

this world is still worth tending. 

It must be God...

So today,

I give thanks for breath, courage and community;

for the strength that comes

when people decide not to leave one another alone

in despair.

Most of all, I give thanks for the Holy One who is

still creating,

still calling us into justice,

still sifting chaos into order

still whispering peace into human fear.

And as gratitude rises,

may it sharpen my vision,

steady my hands,

and deepen my resolve

to live gently,

love boldly,

serve joyfully, 

lead courageously, and

walk justly,

in a world that needs every ounce of healing that can be offered.

Yes, give thanks to God, for God is good and God’s mercy still endures forever.

#thanksgiving #grief #spokenword