A Thankful Perspective

A Thankful Perspective

Once upon a time, when I was young, my parents created an environment of security and I was carefree. My church family created an environment of support and I was brave. My schools created an environment of challenge and I was ambitious. My neighborhood created an environment of belonging and I was free to roam.

I’m grateful for an amazing childhood, but as I grew, I discovered the world. It sandpapered my perspective and confronted my faith - it tried to teach me the harshness of survival of the fittest. I learned how to get up when I got knocked down, no matter how many times I got knocked down. I learned where to use my emotions and where to tuck them away when I needed to just face my reality. I learned to prioritize my values and draw my boundary lines. I learned that my story is not everybody else’s story and I needed to show some grace and give benefits of doubt without being a pushover.

I’m grateful for the balance between the experiences of my childhood and the lessons of my maturity. It helps me to see more clearly that this life with its seasons and changes and ups and downs - this dance through sunshine and storms, this masterpiece of interlinked personal stories is a thing of genius. It is sculpted and painted and molded and clipped and pushed and pulled into this amazing humanity. Knowing that if we follow the hand of sovereign artistry, we will become the greatest work of all time: it is the honor of my life.

With this in mind, 2020 has brought to the forefront all of the “what for”s of my life and allowed me to see face to face what I am made of and what throughout my life has helped to make me. How I fit into this masterful piece of art still remains a mystery - and yet, I cannot deny its beauty through the stories and hope-filled tears of those around me. We are all essential, aren’t we?

So I am grateful to be part of this humanity here and now, no matter how long I may have left. My witness will include the determination and spirit of a people whose grief and loss has made way for open hearts and open minds instead of despair. We seek to heal others as we carry our hearts in our hands. A people who choose love when hate is all around and hurled at our heads - a people who refuse to give up when their hands appear to be empty. They will reach inside and dust off ambitions and gifts tucked away for a rainy day - or in this case, a COVID day. They create and reinvest and become something even they hadn’t entertained. We are innovative and I see how we have been created and prepared for such a time as this. I know it is not all of us, but it is enough of us to change the color of our lives from gray to the dusty purplish pink of a new day dawning. How could I be anything but grateful?