Backlash

Oddly enough, the book for this past week in Pastor as Person was about death. There's no better way to get yourself out of a rut of grief than to read about death. Actually, I'm serious about that one this time around. I actually had a bit of a backlash against all the grief of the past week and I'm going to credit Lynch for it after reading The Undertaking. In order to apprecaite death, one must appreciate life.

Life, despite being surrounded by death, is everywhere and is waiting for full appreciation. On top of this, I think the recognition that Thanksgiving is around the corner. I, like many people, have grown up with a skewed vision of what Thanksgiving is. I tend to associate it with mounds of food, sleep, vacation (from school of work), and even football. There is tragedy in those associations...or rather, there is tragedy in what is not typically on that list. Thanksgiving should be what it says: giving thanks. More often than not I forget what those things are, or limit myself to the usual (and shallow) gifts that I am thankful for. Most children are thankful for their friends, or family, or for fun times. This year I want to challenge myself to look a little deeper. If I want to really go crazy I will thank God for those things I am deprived of. I may be thankful for the challenges in my life that, despite struggle, define life in so many ways. Perhaps I will even give thanks for grief.