Thank you.  I wonder what you hear when someone says ‘thank you’ to you?  Sometimes it’s just what we say when we’re grateful that someone did something for us that we wanted them to do, and we’re glad we got what we wanted.  Sometimes it’s what we say when we’re surprised by the kindness of others who did something for us that we didn’t expect.  But occasionally we hear ‘thank you’ and it’s a response to our exhaustion, our confusion, our longing that we couldn’t do whatever it is we do by ourselves.  In this way our ‘thank you’ becomes an acknowledgment of the need we all have to be loved, accepted, and appreciated; thank you becomes the way we draw those close to us or those that help us carry heavy burdens ever closer to us.  Thank you ceases to be something we say and instead becomes something we believe, and something we act out in life with others.  I heard a lot of runners in the marathon tell us ‘thank you’ yesterday, and some meant it because they were grateful we were there.  Some said it because they didn’t expect a comfort station on the route but they found an unexpected delight.  But I suspect most of those who told us thank you did so because they know just how important hospitality, generosity, and love are to those running a race, whether they were the ones who needed our water and gummi bears or not; they said ‘thank you’ because they knew others needed it.  I’m grateful for all of you who helped us on Sunday morning, and I’m grateful for all of you who I meet on campus each week, or that come to the chapel for a service, or come cook pasta with us on Tuesday nights.  I know the gratitude I feel isn’t just for something I get, it’s for something I see you give each other and that I know we all need.  Gratitude is a practice and a way of life; when we practice it we find abundant life, and life from the one who knows our broken places and fragile spirits, and dwells with us to fill us.

–Thomas

Tuesday at 6 pm our Pasta Night menu will be fusilli (those short, corkscrew shaped pasta) with carrots, sausage (or veggie sausage) and rosemary.  Sounds interesting doesn’t it; come give it a try.

On Campus This Week

Tuesday will be a good day to practice our life of thanks and gratitude.  I hope to see you at BSC around the front of the Caf at 9 am.  Come join me to talk about whatever you’d like to talk about. Then join us to say thank you to God in Yeilding Chapel at 11:45 at our short Eucharist.

Wednesday will be a good day to practice our life of thanks and gratitude.  I hope to see you at Samford around by the O’ Henry’s Coffee in the University Center at 9 am.  Come join me to talk about whatever you’d like to talk about. Then join us to say thank you to God in Reid Chapel at Noon at our short Eucharist (plus, convo credit).

Thursday will be a good day to practice our life of thanks and gratitude.  I hope to see you at our usual table in the Hill Center around 10 am.  Come join me to talk about whatever you’d like to talk about; stay for lunch, coffee, or just come by and say hey.