“Sunday morning, I forgot my prayer
I should have been happy, I still be there
Something could have come and taken me away
But the Main-man felt Sly should be here another day
That's why I got to be thankful
I gotta be thoughtful”
As I ponder this season of Thanksgiving on a Sunday morning, I can’t help but think that part of gratitude is remembering things forgotten – things big and small taken for granted only to be lost in the troubles of the day-to-day.
Yet, how could I alone remember what I have forgotten? How could I alone find gratitude in things I have for too long taken for granted? How could I alone ever be thankful and thoughtful when I have been so ungracious and unthinking for so many years?
Yet, as I sit still in the cave of my heart, listening to the whispers, I begin to remember many things big and small (though I still do not know how!).
At first, I recall my gratitude for my day-to-day, for those things in which I seemingly played a part – my skills, my job, my accomplishments, my right beliefs, correct choices, and good deeds.
Yet, when I catch a whiff of this self-gratitude, it sniffs unmistakably of pride, so I listen some more until the stench subsides with the wind and gives way to silence again.
And in that renewed silence, my heart almost caves in, as my mind recalls the clamor and clash of all the pitfalls and follies that could have taken me away – all the fires and earthquakes burning and cracking in my flesh – yet somehow, I remain for another day.
Then the wind mysteriously kicks back up with whispers again, as I start to remember (though I still do not know how!) things forgotten in which I played no part – gifts given to me when I was neither worthy nor deserving!
Remembering these gifts, I find myself thankful for family, thankful for friends, thankful and thoughtful for all the people who have supported me in my lost years with kind words and loving works – but I am especially thankful for all the prayers on my behalf that I never got to hear, yet somehow now remember.
Remembering these gifts, I can’t help but feel guilty that I was not more worthy, willing and able to receive the blessings so many have showered upon me.
Remembering these gifts, I become even more grateful, yet ashamed, that I am allowed to remember these blessings at all. Where before I was unwilling and unable to fully appreciate others’ grace, today I find myself willing, yet still unable, to receive their loving embrace – at least by my own steam.
I still do not know how I am remembering these forgotten things! I swear it is not me! The whispers just come, not of my own means, but by a power I cannot see.
So, as I still sit in the cave of my heart and listen for more whispers, I hear a strong wind, then earthquake, then fire tear down and break to pieces my highest horizons – when suddenly I remember with a gratitude not of this world the greatest gift ever given to me – “a still, small voice.”
Sometimes the voice sounds like my father.
Sometimes the voice sounds like my mother.
Sometimes the voice sounds like my grandfather and sometimes like my younger brother.
Sometimes the voice sounds like a friend, a colleague, a mentor, or a muse.
Sometimes the voice sounds like a funky soul song full of gratitude.
But more often, it’s a voice that I can’t quite place – a voice that comes to me in times of trouble, a voice that frees me to remember all I’ve forgotten, a voice that grants me gratitude for all I’ve taken for granted, a voice that fills me with Grace and allows me to stand able when I am willing to do His will.
It is an ineffable voice, and yet it has a name – only through Christ Jesus could I ever be truly thankful and thoughtful for all the gifts given to a wretch like me.
Glory be to the Father
and to the Son
and to the Holy Spirit,
as it was in the beginning
is now, and ever shall be
world without end.
Amen.
And may you all have a happy Thanksgiving.
Joey Clark is a native Alabamian and is currently the host of the radio program News and Views on News Talk 93.1 FM WACV out of Montgomery, AL, M-F 12 p.m. - 3 p.m. His column appears every Tuesday in 1819 News. To contact Joey for media or speaking appearances, as well as any feedback, please email [email protected]. Follow him on X @TheJoeyClark or watch the radio show livestream.
The views and opinions expressed here are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the policy or position of 1819 News. To comment, please send an email with your name and contact information to [email protected].
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