Every Breath is a Gift

"The breath you just took is a gift."
Rob Bell

I am becoming aware of the truth of this statement more and more.  It  becomes more difficult to take life for granted when faced with the atrocities taking place in Gaza, Syria and many places around the world.  The thought of innocent children being bombed in their sleep is enough to shake you out of apathy.  At any moment life can be taken from you.  A close friend of mine is in the hospital after a medical emergency that could have easily taken her life.  She is still here and in the midst of sadness and worry about her condition I must be grateful.  I must give thanks that she is still here and I am still here to witness her recovery.

Every breath is a gift, every single one.  Every breath is a manifestation of grace that is at once beautiful and fragile.  Here one moment and gone the next.  We must surrender to this reality if we are to live life well.  Denying our vulnerability does the world no good.  Humility and gratitude are essential to a life well lived.  Realizing the limitations of what we can do for ourselves opens our eyes to see all that is graciously given to us, providing us with opportunities to sink deeper into gratitude.  We can do nothing to earn or deserve the breath of life.  We cannot take life upon ourselves.  It is given to us freely as an act of grace and love.

My favorite part of the creation story in the Bible is Genesis 2:7  "Then the Lord God formed a man from the dust of the ground and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life, and the man became a living being."  I love the imagery of God stooping down into the clay and personally breathing life into the first human being.  It's a beautiful illustration that our very being is dependent upon another Source, that life is a gift freely given to be received in gratitude.  Love has called us into being.

When I am tempted to fall into despair because of all the troubles in the world I remind myself that every single breath I take gives me another reason to say thank you.  Every breath is a gift.  What will I do with it?  The powers that be seem invincible and ubiquitous, but certainly I can use my life to make a difference in the lives of others.  The ability to be grateful in a world full of trouble saves us from the paralysis of despair and nudges us to use our gift for purposes far greater than securing our own comfort.  Every now and then stop, be still, take a breath and recognize it for the miraculous gift that it is.  Let everything that you do flow from this realization.

Following the Way,
Kevin

Not Enough Tears

I woke up this morning and couldn't stop crying.  Every time I thought I was done I would start back up again.  I couldn't stop the tears from pouring down my face, but it's not what you think.  I am not sad.  I am not depressed.  I am overwhelmed by the faithfulness of God and the gratitude I feel deep inside reverberating through my soul, rolling like thunder in my spirit.

I recently received the news that I have been awarded a merit scholarship that covers 100% of my tuition for seminary.  It is EXACTLY what I asked God to provide and indeed God has provided.  God is faithful .  I've been fighting the call to full time ministry for a long time and resisted the call to seminary.  How can I afford to go full time when I need to pay my rent?  How can I afford tuition?  How will I be ordained afterwards?  Despite the questions the call remained so I said, "Ok God, if you want me to go to divinity school I'll go, but I don't have the money for it and I'm not taking out any more loans so you have to pay for it."  I have received God's response to this request and my soul is flooded with gratitude.

God has been so faithul and has made his presence known to me since I was a young child.  When I look back over my life and think about all God has done for me, all I can say is thank you.  Thank you for blessing me.  Thank you for keeping me.  Thank you for opening doors for me.  Thank you for making a way out of no way.  Thank you for holding me in pain, in sorrow, in loss, in loneliness, in disappointment and bringing me out.  Thank you for being faithful even when I am not.

There are not enough tears to shed, not enough words to say, not enough songs to sing to adequately express my gratitude so let my life be one big thank you to you O God.  Let every moment of my life be drenched with gratitude for your goodness.  Every time my heart beats let it say thank you.  Every time my lungs take in air let them say thank you.  And when it's time to put away this life like an old used up rag, grant me this honor and allow the last words on my lips to be: thank you.

Oh, give thanks to the Lord, for he is good! For his mercy endures forever. Psalm 136:1

Following the Way,
Kevin

A Litany Of Thanksgiving

Let us give thanks to God our Father and Mother for all gifts so freely bestowed upon us.

For the beauty and wonder of your creation, in earth and sky and sea,
Lord we give you thanks.

For all that is gracious in the lives of men and women, revealing the image of Christ,
Lord we give you thanks.

For our daily food and drink, our homes and families, and our friends,
Lord we give you thanks.

For eyes that see and ears that hear, and arms and legs that move.
Lord we give you thanks.

For minds to think, and hearts to love, and hands to serve,
Lord we give you thanks.

For health and strength to work, and leisure to rest and play,
Lord we give you thanks.

For the breath of God within us that causes us to be and makes our mortal bodies God’s dwelling place,

Lord we give you thanks.

For the brave and courageous, who are patient in suffering and faithful in adversity,
Lord we give you thanks.

For all who hunger and thirst for justice, truth and righteousness,
Lord we give you thanks.

For the communion of saints, in all times and places,
Lord we give you thanks.

For tears and how you use them to water the soil of our faith,

Lord we give you thanks.

For unexpected loss that causes us to stop and reflect and realize what’s important,

Lord we give you thanks.

For meeting you in silence when there are no words to say,

Lord we give you thanks.

For joy and laughter and moments of wonder,

Lord we give you thanks.

For this community and everyone in it and all of the blessings they bring,

Lord we give you thanks.

Following the Way,

Kevin 

A Guided Meditation on Gratitude

This is a guided meditation I led at my church.  May it speak to your heart also.

I’m feeling incredibly broken right now.  In the past 6 months 2 people that I know have been shot and killed.  Both young women in their twenties and both from the church I was very involved in for seven years.  On Tuesday I found out a friend from college has cancer.  And in addition to all of that I’ve been processing some heavy personal disappointments of my own.  It is quite fitting that I am here tonight to talk about gratitude because if I am only able to say thank you to God when everything is going well than my thank you doesn’t really mean anything.  If gratitude is something I only express when everything is going according to plan than it can never become a spiritual practice that becomes life giving and life changing.

Someone recently asked me why am I so drawn to gratitude and I struggled to articulate an answer.  The best way that I can put it is that the ability to cultivate gratitude has saved my life.  Some of us have had many, many things go wrong in our lives and I am one of them.  As someone with a history of depression sometimes I become overwhelmed.  For me being depressed is like being locked into a pitch black room.  There are no windows, no doors.  It’s totally dark and I can’t see.  I can’t see God. I can’t see the ones around me.  It’s so dark I can’t even see myself.  But when I find something in my life to be grateful for and give thanks light comes into the room and I can see again.  The doors open and I can be reached.  I can be reached by God.  I can be reached by those who love me. I can be reached by joy even in the midst of pain.

Guided Meditation:

I want you to close your eyes and take a deep breath.  Think about a painful situation in your life for a moment.  Acknowledge it.  Feel the weight of it.  Take it all in.  Now search for something good even in that situation.  Is there any good to be found?  Is there anything to be grateful for?  Find it and focus on it.  Take a deep breath and as you breathe, breathe in gratitude.  Without ignoring the pain, focus on what you’re grateful for and breathe in gratitude.  With every breath let if fill you; let it fill your body and soul.  Let gratitude fill the thoughts of that painful situation and bring in its light. Take another breath.  Take another breath.  Allow your heart to rest in this place of gratitude. Carry this gratitude with you throughout your day.

Following the Way,

Kevin 

The Blessing of a Broken Heart

There's a blessing in having a broken heart.  I know this may sound strange, but I know it to be true in my own life.  In fact, I believe it is true for anyone following the spiritual path.  For believers it is important to remember that Christ did not come to remove our brokenness.  Anyone who thinks that following Jesus means you'll never cry or experience pain or illness or setbacks and difficulty is dead wrong!  For Christ did not come to remove our brokenness but to dwell more fully within it.  We are not blessed or broken; we are blessed and broken.  Christ came to dwell in our brokenness; to make our broken places his dwelling place.  So a broken heart with all of the grief and heaviness that comes with it is an opportunity to sink deeper into Jesus and for Jesus to sink deeper into us.  For this I am grateful.  Sometimes the only thing that can water the soil of our faith is our tears.

This is what I've been experiencing recently.  Facing some heavy disappointment I turned to God in prayer and felt the love and comfort only God can provide.  I said "God I lift my broken heart to You" and immediately felt God's response: God's abiding indwelling presence.  When I look back over my life I can't imagine how I would have survived if not for God carrying me through the hard times.  Over the years I've discovered that a heart that is broken has more room for God to dwell in.  A broken heart can be the catalyst for intimacy and drive us straight into the arms of God where we realize everything we need can be found there.  It reminds us of our need for God and allows us to rediscover the comfort and encouragement only God can bring.  For this I am grateful.

So when you find yourself with a heart that is breaking know that you're in a good place because a heart that can be broken is a heart that can be touched, that can be filled, that can be moved by the suffering of others, by the sound of laughter, by the simple sensation of a gentle passing breeze.  A heart that can be broken is the perfect place for God to dwell.  We are often ashamed of our brokenness, our weakness, our shortcomings.  Not God; for our brokenness is the place where God desires to dwell the most.  From God's perspective it's the best room in the house!  It's the place that God can mend, heal, restore and cause to expand.  You are blessed even in your brokenness so allow God to dwell in your broken places. It will make all the difference.  It has for me time and time again and is so even now.

"Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of compassion and the God of all comfort, who comforts us in all our troubles, so that we can comfort those in any trouble with the comfort we ourselves receive from God".  1 Corinthians 2:3-4

Following the Way,

Kevin

Giving God Thanks!

Oh, give thanks to the Lord, for He is good!  For his mercy endures forever.

1 Chronicles 16:34

My sister was rear-ended by another car this week.  She was in a stopped position waiting to make a left turn when a car just plowed right into her.

When I look at this picture all I can say is THANK YOU JESUS!!!  My sister is still alive.  The accident could have been so much worse.  She could have been killed.  My nephew could have been in the back seat, but he wasn't.  My little nieces could have been in that back seat, but they were not.  I have to give God thanks for sparing my sister's life.  Even when all hell breaks loose God is still FAITHFUL!!!  God has proven this to me over and over again.

If you are in the habit of texting while driving I beg you, PLEASE STOP!!!  If not for the sake of your own life than for the sake of the lives of all the other drivers and passengers on the road.  But for the grace of God my family could be making funeral arrangements for my sister right now because of a negligent driver.  Don't let that negligent driver be you.  Please don't text and drive!  God's peace be with you all!

Following the Way,
Kevin

Meeting God in the Storm

On Sunday, August 28 Boston got a taste of Tropical Storm Irene.  I had begun to move from one apartment to another the day before.  Yes I know, bad timing!  I was at my mom's, sitting in her bed upstairs, listening to the wind howl and the rain beat heavily against the window.  It's the same house I grew up in as a child and even in adulthood there is something so comforting about being in my mom's room, wrapped up in her blankets!  From time to time I have trouble sleeping.  There are some nights like last night when I just lay awake for hours, but EVERY time I visit my mom and sneak off into her room I fall asleep, EVERY single time.  I just can't explain it.

Anyway, I was in bed watching TV, so glad to be completely sheltered from the storm when I began to feel the presence of God slip into the room.  It was unexpected, but it should not have been.  I allowed myself to be still for a moment and became aware of the Presence that had always been there.  It happens every time I allow myself to be still.  I thought to myself isn't it just like God to show up in the middle of a storm?  The wind is raging outside, knocking down tree branches and power lines.  The rain is beating against the window as if it really wants to come in and here comes God, quietly, but so surely stepping into the room and meeting me in the middle of the storm.  I began to pray and I began to feel that every single storm I've ever experienced in my life would be used by God to bring out something good, that all of the things I've thought of as burdens God would use them to become sources of blessing for me and for others.

This is the God that I know, the God who is not deterred by raging winds and relentless rain.  The God who is not deterred by your past.  The God who is not deterred by your rage.  The God who is not deterred by your unbelief.  This God will meet you in the storm, whatever storm you may be experiencing in your life right now.  God will meet you there and God will use the very things that came into your life to hurt you to bless you.  The God who turns burdens into blessings will meet you in the storm.

And so I say thank you, even for the winds and the rain, even for the challenges and the obstacles, even for the disappointments and the pain.  If I had never shed a tear than I would have never discovered the God who turns tears into dancing.  And so I say thank you, even for the storm, but most of all for the God who's not afraid to meet me there.

Following the Way,
Kevin

Still Say Thank You

Gratitude is something I try to weave into my everyday life. I usually do a pretty good job doing so, but sometimes I lose sight of all the reasons I have to be grateful.  Sometimes I focus too much on what I don't have.  Sometimes when I'm hurting, frustrated and disappointed I forget to say thank you.  And saying thank you is important because even when there's a lot of stuff in my life going wrong I still have to be grateful for all the stuff that's going right.  Even when I am angry at God I still have to say thank you to God for being the Source that sustains me, for being the Source of everything that is good in my life.

There's a song titled, "Still Say Thank You", and every time I hear it I am pulled back to that place of gratitude.  I'm reminded that weaving a posture of gratitude into your daily life is absolutely essential to living well no matter what life may throw at you.  I hope that listening to this song will do the same for you.

Following the Way,
Kevin

More Than Grateful

This Christmas I didn’t need anything waiting for me under the tree because I had already received so much.  I experienced the faithfulness of God in such a profound way in 2010.  I feel so full right now.  I’m so tempted to leap out of my chair and have a praise break right here in the office!  GOD IS GOOD!!!  This is the cry of my heart right now.  In the midst of transition and uncertainty God is good and has proven to me over and over again that He can be trusted.

I just need to publicly thank God for all that I have received in 2010.  It was a year of major transition for me and God was there to lead me every step of the way.  He never left me alone. When I couldn’t walk he carried me.  When I was weak his presence made me strong. When worry began to grip my heart he gave me peace.  When friends walked away he brought wonderful people into my life to fill the void.  When I needed a new church home he blessed me with an amazing community of faith I am honored to be a part of.  When I experienced lack he provided.  When I failed he showed me grace.  When I fell he showed mercy.  When I was hungry and thirsty for something more than this world could provide he filled me with himself and now I am satisfied. 

What did I ever do to deserve such love and what can I ever do to repay God for it?  I am overwhelmed and I must say thank you.  I am more than grateful for God’s abiding indwelling presence.  I am more than grateful for this strength and joy that leaps up out of my soul when I need it most.  I am more than grateful for this love that cannot be named, that cannot adequately be described or measured that I can feel deep within the marrow of my bones, coursing through my veins, echoing in even the darkest corners of my soul where no one else dare go.  I am more than grateful that I have fallen in love with a God who had already fallen in love with me from day one.

It’s too much to take in.  I am held by love.  I am carried by love.  I am drowning in love.  I can’t understand it.  I can’t explain it.  I can’t repay God for it.  All I can say is thank you!

Following the Way,

Kevin

Thank You!

There are moments in my life when I am just so grateful to be alive, moments when I realize that the weight of all of my problems, issues, fears and concerns simply cannot compare to the joy of being, the joy of living, the joy of taking in a breath and smelling the morning air and feeling the warmth of the sun upon my face.

I am grateful!  Grateful for eyes that see and ears that hear!  Grateful for arms and legs, hands and feet that move!  Grateful for the heart beating within me and every single functioning component of the intricate system of my physical body!  Grateful for this day and all of the possibilities it contains.

I am grateful and I must say thank you.  My soul must say thank you.  To the One who is Beauty, Mystery and Light; the One who is and causes everything else to be, the One who will always be everything I'll ever need: Thank You!  Thank You!!  Thank You!!!

"You turned my wailing into dancing; you removed my sackcloth and clothed me with joy, that my heart may sing to you and not be silent. 

O LORD my God, I will give you thanks forever."

Psalm 30:11-12

Following the Way,
Kevin

Good Morning God

I woke up this morning and I said, "Good Morning God".  It's a spiritual practice I have used in the past and am returning to again.  It's a practice that emphasizes devotion.  By setting aside my first words of every morning to God I demonstrate the place of importance God holds in my life.  In saying Good Morning I am saying to God: You are my first love.  You are the first thing on my mind when I awake; the first thing upon my heart when I begin to stir myself out of bed.  Before my feet even touch the floor I long to commune with You. Brushing my teeth, washing my face, emptying my bladder can wait; I must greet the One who watched over me all night as I was sleeping.  I must reach out to the One who is always reaching out to me. I must turn to face the One who has never hidden his face from me and so I simply say Good Morning.

It's also a practice that emphasizes presence.  I greet God because I realize that God is there and is always there.  There will never be a morning when I will awake to find myself alone.  No, God is always there and by simply saying Good Morning my spirit is reminded of this fact.  And knowing this makes all the difference in how I go about my day whatever it may hold.

Good Morning God!  I am more than grateful for the privilege of greeting You this morning and sharing with You another day.

Following the Way,
Kevin

The Urgency of Gratitude

A man riding a motorcycle was struck by a truck and killed this morning right outside my office window on Beacon Street.  He most likely had no idea when he left his house this morning for his daily commute that his day and life would quickly come to an end, as we most likely will have no idea when our time on earth here will come to an end as well.

I am learning about the urgency of gratitude.  There is an urgent need to be grateful wherever you are, whatever situation you find yourself in, to be fully present in the present moment because you really have no idea just how many precious moments you have left.  If you knew that your life would abruptly come to an end soon would you change some things, spend less time complaining, walk away from some relationships?  Don't wait.  Do it now!  Most likely no one's going to tap you on the shoulder and tell you how much time you have left.  Life is a miracle and a precious gift; don't waste it.

I am alive and I've made a decision that while I am alive I am going to live, not merely exist but live!  I went to the bathroom and cried my eyes out when I heard the man didn't survive the accident.  He was a 37-year-old doctor and father of three.  It's so sad, but life has not ended for me yet.  I'm still here and I am going to enjoy this precious gift of life that God has given me and hasn't yet taken away.  I'm going off to lunch and I am going to enjoy every last bite.  I'm going to laugh TODAY.  I'm going to smile TODAY.  I'm going to enjoy the company of someone I love TODAY.  I choose to be grateful for every part of this day good or bad because who knows, I may not be here tomorrow.  Twenty four hours from now someone else could be blogging about how my life rapidly and unexpectedly came to an end.

Gratitude is an urgent matter.  You have less time than you think you do.  Be grateful TODAY.  Change the things in your life that make you unhappy.  Fill the present moment with gratitude because the present moment is all we ever have.

Following the Way,
Kevin

More Than I Can Bear

My beautiful niece Lia was born on Thursday, July 29 at 8:42 in the morning.  I was thrilled at the news and rushed to the hospital as soon as I got off work to welcome my niece into the world.  I can't quite describe it, but there's something so beautiful, spiritual and transcendent about being able to lay your eyes upon a human being during their first day on the planet!

Lia was so beautiful.  I could do nothing but stop and stare.  And for a moment I became enveloped in a holy silence brought about by a deep sense of awe and wonder.  It was so humbling.  Lia was small and largely silent, sleeping most of the time I was there, but she had such presence.  She radiated such peace and tranquility that seemed to fill the whole room and hover in the air.  It was almost too much to bear.  I thought, wow, what a gift to be able to be here at this moment and witness such beauty!  Every issue or problem I had just vanished from my mind and I realized I wasn't just in the presence of my niece but I was standing in the presence of Something much, much bigger than Lia and me.  What a gift!

I am grateful for Lia.  I am grateful for moments like these that help put things in perspective.  I am honored and humbled to be given the privilege of experiencing such richness in life.  The joy in my heart, the song in my soul, the peace in my spirit is almost more than I can bear and I am grateful.

Following the Way,
Kevin

I Won't Complain

I was listening to a Gospel song on Sunday called "I Won't Complain" and I've heard it several times before, but this time it really struck me how grateful I am to God for all that God has done on my behalf.  The words are so simple and yet so true.  Here is the first verse:

I've had some good days

I've had some hills to climb,

I've had some weary days

I've had some weary nights

But when I look around

And I think things over

All of my good days

Outweigh my bad days

So I won't complain

If I had to add up all the time I've spent complaining about one thing or another I'd probably be shocked by all the time I've completely wasted doing something that produces nothing: complaining.  Complaining accomplishes nothing; resolves nothing; produces nothing, so why waste your time doing it?

"If you find your here and now intolerable and it makes you unhappy, you have three options: remove yourself from the situation, change it, or accept it totally."

Eckhart Tolle

These are wise words indeed!  Why complain about a situation when you can change it?  And if you can't change it then you can either accept it as it is or walk away.  Anything else is insanity and a huge waste of time and energy.

You are precious and your limited time here on earth is precious as well.  Don't waste it on something as small, petty and useless as complaining.  You deserve infinitely more than that!

Following the Way,

Kevin

August's Theme: Gratitude

It's been a long time since I've written anything here with the exception of my last entry.  Sorry about that!  For the month of August I'd like to focus on gratitude.

Gratitude is so much more than saying thank you when someone does something nice for you.  Gratitude is a way of living, a way of looking at the world.  It's a radical choice to focus on the good despite all the chaos and mayhem that often surround us in life.  It is quiet and subtle and yet deeply spiritual, transformative and powerful.  It's like a tiny stream of water that overtime bores a hole through the rock.  The art of practicing gratitude daily has the power to transform not only a moment, not only a day in your life, but your entire life itself.  Bit by bit, day by day, simple daily gratitude softens the heart and stretches the soul.

Gratitude is a path that leads to life, joy and contentment.  Why don't you start the journey today? Find something to be grateful for today.  Despite of all the things that may be going wrong stop and be still for a moment and focus on one thing that's going right and be grateful for it.  Feel this gratitude deeply within you and let it flow from the inside out.  It just might make all the difference.

Finally, brothers [and sisters], whatever is true, whatever is noble, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable—if anything is excellent or praiseworthy—think about such things.

Philippians 4:8

Following the Way,
Kevin

On Loan

The earth is the LORD’s, and everything in it, 

the world and all who live in it.

Psalm 24:1

It is quite remarkable that even though we all know that EVERYONE is going to die at some point it still somehow catches us off guard every single time.  A wonderful woman by the name of Sonja Lartey recently passed away, far too soon, far too soon if you ask me.  I knew that she was sick and towards the end I knew that she was dying and yet when it happened—when she actually passed—I just couldn’t believe it.  For some reason I was in a state of shock.  Even when we see it coming we are never quite ready to say goodbye.

Death is hard.  Death is sad.  Death is so painful.  All of these are such huge understatements.  The sense of loss and helplessness simply cannot be put into words.  And yet experiencing the death of someone we love, someone we still can’t believe is gone, gives us a moment for reflection, to think deeply upon what really matters within the short span of our little lives.  If we are open God can meet us even in our grief and speak, whispering words of wisdom into our fragile and broken hearts.

Our capitalistic society is obsessed with having possessions.  The American Dream is centered on owning property as opposed to developing life-enhancing relationships for example.  On some level we even think we own one another: our husbands, our wives, our children, our friends, we act as if they belong to us.  And then death comes—and we are forced with the realization that they are not ours; they were never ours.  They never belonged to us; they were just on loan for a little while.  Everyone and everything belongs to God and every moment we get to spend with someone we love is a precious, precious gift and we never quite know when the loan will be recalled.

I implore you, don’t wait until it’s too late.  Find someone you love and tell them that you love them while you have the chance.  Find someone you’re grateful towards and say thank you.  Wrap your arms around someone you care about.  You never know when the loan may be recalled.

To Pastor Sonja, I don’t think most of us knew how much you meant to us until you were taken away.  Forgive us; forgive me.  We love you.  We really do miss you, but someday we will be where you are now: home.  Until then….

Following the Way,

Kevin

April's Theme: Mercy

I really am in awe of the unconditional love of God. You don’t fully realize what a gift mercy is until you see yourself at your worst and discover that even then God is still with you. God doesn’t abandon us when we fail one another instead he shows us mercy and it is the abiding presence of God despite our failures that makes change a real possibility for us. We are not transformed by God’s wrath, judgment or condemnation, but by his love and mercy.

I got so upset yesterday. I was waiting for a consultation in this Chinese herbalist store and I got irritated so quickly. You couldn’t make an appointment; they don’t write down your name or give you a number when you come in. This is really stupid to me. Instead you just walk in and hope there’s not too many people there. I felt that it was so disrespectful of my time. And while I’m waiting a couple of people come in and they are told very clearly that there are 3 people ahead of them and they will have to wait. What do they do? As soon as someone walked out of the office they walked right in; they knew full well what they were doing. That was it for me! Once that happened I was just mad at the world for the next couple of hours. Everything and everyone irritated me from that point on.

Later when I calmed down I had to laugh at myself. There was no reason for me to get that upset. With all that I have experienced of God’s love and grace and new life I could have responded to that frustration differently, but I didn’t. I’m so grateful for mercy. I’m so glad that as God watched me lose my temper it didn’t change the way he felt for me at all. He extended mercy to me before I even asked for it. He is still with me and his presence never left me. What a wonderful assurance to have that even at our worst moments God doesn’t leave us. This is mercy. This is love. And for this I am grateful.

"Through the LORD’s mercies we are not consumed, because His compassions fail not. They are new every morning; great is Your faithfulness." 

Lamentations 3: 22-23

Following the Way,

Kevin

For This I Am Grateful

"Rejoice always, pray without ceasing, in everything give thanks; for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus for you."  1 Thessalonians 5:16-18

I woke up this morning and I said thank you.  I didn't sleep too good last night, but I said thank you.  I have some problems that I don't yet have solutions for, but I said thank you.  I don't know how everything's going to work out, but I said thank you.  I had some friends who walked away, but I said thank you.  I had some plans that didn't go my way, but I said thank you.

Thank you God.  Thank you Life.  Thank you Providence, for the chance to see another day and all of its possibilities.  Thank you that all of my loved ones are safe and accounted for; this isn't the case for everyone.  Thank you for food to eat, clothes to wear, heat for the brutally cold Boston winter nights.  Yes, for all this and so much more than I have time to mention I am grateful.  Thank you!  Thank you!! Thank you!!! In everything I will give thanks.

Gratitude, simple daily gratitude is enough to turn your whole life around. 


Following the Way,
Kevin