Thankful

"Silent gratitude isn't very much use to anyone" (Gertrude Stein).

I am thankful for 40 years of life and all those who have shared in it and filled it.

I am thankful our definition of “family” is broad and the doors of our home and heart open.

Particularly…

I am thankful for my wife -- loving partner, gracious host, generous spirit, valued companion, beautiful.

I am thankful for Forest, my brother, my elder – who chose to move to Denver so we could live near each other for the first time in our adult lives, for those times when he can pop in, share a meal, and enjoy the seemingly insignificant things most brothers who grew up together take for granted.

I am thankful for my community of friends who do life with us, specifically…


I am thankful for Jonathon, my friend, my challenger and brother – for his tough choices, his willingness to live transparently, his sacrificial love for those who aren’t his, his audacity to walk across America.

I am thankful for Sput, a young man I am proud to know and count among my friends – for his hunger for learning, for his sense of humor, for his acceptance to college, for his search for purpose and significance, for his discovery of life, for his growing faith.

I am thankful for Jolene, a gem, a jewel, a Ruby – for the laughter she brings to our home, for her beauty, for her female presence among our male-majority (and because she hasn’t broken any of our stuff lately).

I am thankful for Ben, our son in grace and resident artist – for persistent creativity, for coming to grips with grace, for pursuit of life, for becoming his own person, for walking towards his future.

I am thankful for Corey, an unexpected import into our lives – for his risk-taking, for his success in career, and a fresh new start in Denver.

I am thankful for Curtis who shares our Thanksgiving Day with us – the stranger welcomed to our table and to our home, Jesus at our table.

I am thankful for our Irish friends – for special memories of Thanksgivings past and cherished, missed times in their homes.

And more…

I am thankful for the Rocky Mountains and the beauty of America’s West.

I am thankful for employment because we are not one of the 7 percent of Colorado workers and 10 percent of American workers without work this Thanksgiving.

I am thankful for my students who constantly remind me of the limits of my grace and who teach me to look beyond behavior and appearance to understand the reasons why.

I am thankful for the time I had with a dying student and his family, to witness their love and commitment to their son and experience their honesty in loss and grief…and to be thankful for the time we have with one another, even if that time is short.

I am thankful for books whose words I consume and thoughts I digest, books that both challenge my thinking and affirm it. I am thankful for Nouwen, Manning, Jethani, Boyd, Young, Petersen, Miller, Hunter, and Brown who have written some of my favorites.

I am thankful for dissatisfaction that pushes me toward change, anger which pushes me toward justice, pain which pushes me toward grace, and empathy which pushes me toward mercy.

I am thankful for Jesus.