Our prayers this last week were built on something I had come across in the New York Times around Thanksgiving. They knew that 2020 had been harsh for most of us, but they urged us to register and name things to be thankful for in the midst of pain and to distill their appreciative memory down to six words. This secular, spiritual practice, I felt, might be something we could learn from as people of faith. Like Mary and Joseph, when those from another way of viewing the world show up, we do well to receive their gifts.

I stole some words of thanks outright from the readers and modified others. But I also condensed long conversations with local people into six word summaries. Here are those prayers:

Sunny mornings, a window facing east.

Electronic worship. God comes to me.

My feet. The trail. Each morning.

Jokes mailed. Laughing and feeling loved.

For furry friends keeping us company.

I held my dying wife’s hand.

New technology. Family is connected again.

The choir couldn’t keep from singing.

Neglected voices, rising to be heard.

The crinkling eyes above the masks.

Faith, family, friends, dedicated medical professionals.

Hearing her laugh on the phone.

Books, books, books, and more books.

Unexpected gifts as friends reach out.

Rediscovering myself by reading the bible.

Tried. Failed. Failed worse. Kept going.

I proposed and she said yes.

Unto us, a child is born.

(If you’d like to see the video of these prayers, click here.)

 

What did I miss? What did you experience in the midst of the pain that is your reason to thank God? What six words would you appreciatively offer to God?

“Rejoice always, pray continually, give thanks in all circumstances; for this is God’s will for you in Christ Jesus.” 1 Thessalonians 5:16-18

 

 

About Philip Ruge-Jones

After I served for eighteen years as a professor of theology at Texas Lutheran University, my family decided to return to the Midwest where my wife and I grew up, attended college and seminary. Read more...