I don’t know about you but I sometimes struggle to savor the goodness and the blessings along the way. Often  it is because I am looking for the next big thing, the extraordinary; I am living in the future instead of being fully present with a heart posture of gratitude even for the small things. There is so much humility in acknowledging the gifts received in the ordinary. As we have entered this new year, I cannot not go back and savor in gratitude the good, bad and the ugly of 2023. Because even in the difficulties, I promise you I was transformed. 

This past year has been nothing that I had imagined when it started. At the end of January, I found myself with no place to live once the summer 2023 would have started. In February, I was SO done with my teaching job that I did not think I would make it another year and I even questioned teaching in its entirety. In the midst of that, I was looking to transition out of the Northeast to the South. Yet, in March I decided that I would go to Canada for the very first time to visit a friend who has been in a serious trial for a while now just to be present to her. In April, a couple of months before the summer started I decided to embark on a total adventure to Europe which was so transformative for me and much needed after a trying teaching year. 

At the end of June, I packed my car and left the Northeast to the South with as much as I could fit in my little Sedan. At the end of August, I came back to the Northeast and I returned to the job I did not think I would have lasted months earlier while battling an all time season of disappointment in the weeks that followed. In Mid-September, God miraculously provided me with a place to live that I didn’t even realize that I needed. In December, I got to spend two weeks with my family in Florida and it was so needed for my soul. So much more happened in 2023 that I could tell you in this post but one thing that is certain is that remembering what the Lord has done for me leads to me to sheer gratitude.  

One story that illustrates this perfectly is the story of the Israelites after crossing the Jordan. In Joshua 4, the Israelites after years of trials finally arrived at the place God had promised them. Joshua, their leader after receiving instructions from the Lord,  gathered 12 men to represent each tribe. Each man had to take one stone and there they built a memorial whose purpose was to remind them always of what the Lord had done for them. ( See Joshua 4: 1-9) The physical and tangible act of erecting the memorial was a simple reminder of the spiritual reality not just for them but for the generations to come. 

So today, I challenge you: What are you grateful for? Where do you see God’s fingerprint in your life? 

If you don’t know where to start, I suggest that you review your day hour by hour starting with the moment you wake up till the moment you are ready to go to bed (i.e The Daily Examen). I promise you will find much to be grateful for and I assure you, you don’t  have to wait for the year to be over to start cultivating an attitude of gratitude. It changes everything!

See in the Eucharist, 

Sourire