Giving thanks

Thank you …

At the end of the year our community usually has a special prayer celebration to thank God for the year that has passed and to entrust to His hands the coming one.
I know that there are so many reasons to give thanks. The problem is, at times, it’s not easy to make a rundown of all of them at the end of the year. I prefer to give thanks everyday, when a favor is done, when I am shown a simple gesture of kindness, when I manage to get up and to get back my sense of humor.
I want my prayer of thanksgiving today to be something felt, not a litany of generalities that in the end do not really touch my heart, or maybe I am becoming too closed in on myself. It could be that too, but right now, deep in my heart, I just want to be sincere.
So as I thank God for the year that is ending, I also thank a friend who has been there when I needed a shoulder to cry on, a sibling whose thoughtful gestures came when I needed them most, a former student whose unexpected visit made me realize that my efforts a long, long time ago have not been unappreciated, my group whose good examples never fail to edify me and make me look at life from a different perspective, my father whose humility has taught me that there is always room for growth.
And as I continue, the list gets longer and longer ….
So why then should I wait for the end of the year to give thanks?

“In all circumstances give thanks.” (1 Thessalonians 5:18)