…Opening To…

If the only prayer you said in your whole life was, “thank you,” that would suffice. (Meister Eckhart)

…Listening In…

Therefore, go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit,teaching them to obey everything that I’ve commanded you. Look, I myself will be with you every day until the end of this present age.” (Matthew 28:19-20; context)

…Filling Up…

When we take the long view of events in our pasts, we find the ability to thank God for difficult and challenging times that have led our lives in directions we never imagined. This sort of gratitude accomplishes more than simple thanks to God. By acknowledging that we have no idea whatsoever how our lives are going to turn out, we practice humility in the face of the expansive unknown that we benignly call “future.”

When my heart was broken in the summer of 2006, my life seemed pretty much over from that point on. But you know what? It wasn’t. Try as I might to hold on to the recent past, when I thought things were so good, I kept slipping and sliding into the future no matter what I did. And six years later, I must say that the future I was attempting to avoid is so much better than the future into which I had shoehorned myself and the woman who broke my heart.

So today, I invite you to give thanks for the vast expanse of possibility that the future holds. This sort of thanksgiving is the birthplace of hope – which is the willing expectation that the boundaries of possibility are far wider than we perceive. So give thanks to God for possibility, for newness, for adventure. And then take a step with God into the untamed wilderness that is tomorrow, knowing all the while that God has already explored this jungle and will lead you through.

…Praying For…

Dear God, you know our pasts, our presents, and our futures. Help me to open myself up to the future you have designed for me, and help me to invite you on the journey, exploring that future with me. In Jesus Christ’s name I pray. Amen.

…Sending Out…

I leave this moment with you, God, eager to look for your blessing in my life and eager to be a reason that others give thanks to you.