A Quiet Gratitude

And the Best Reason to Be Grateful

Every November our culture inundates us with memes and articles about being grateful.

I confess I have a complicated relationship with worldly forms of gratitude. I deeply appreciate biblical gratitude, but I remain skeptical of digital gratitude, because on social media, gratitude typically gets reduced to a humblebrag and a hashtag.

To be grateful is, indeed, a biblical mandate, but there are also seasons in life when lament is appropriate as well. That’s the hard thing about the Internet in November. Some of us may be in a season where gratitude is spilling over in abundance because there is so much awesomeness happening in our lives, while others of us may be in a season where we secretly wish November could quietly pass us by, because there is so much we’re carrying right now, and we can’t help but wonder if maybe next year will be better.

If you find yourself in that latter camp this year, I want you to know you’re not alone. There have been some Novembers in my life when all I wanted was maybe a little pumpkin pie, but without that dreaded obligatory circle-time where we were expected to name out loud the things we’re grateful for.

This is why I wrote a lengthy prayer of lament for those times when we’re struggling to name the blessings. But this year, in keeping with my mission to cultivate joy, I am pulling out a pen and paper to write down the reminders — to help me remember that God is still good, even when some circumstances in the world are not.

So, here are some of the things — and people! — I am grateful for.

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my writing room…

This is my writing room.

It’s a sanctuary for me — a place where I savor quiet moments with books and paper and pens (and a laptop too).

Last fall I took a piece of graph paper and sketched an idea I had for a built-in, wall-to-wall, floor-to-ceiling bookcase. I showed the rough outline to my husband. A few weeks later, he put the finishing touches on my new book wall.

I may work with ideas and words, but he is good with measures and wood. I’ve told him that we can’t ever move now because I love my writing room so much.

But this space — and the book wall behind it — is more than just a place with some of my favorite things, it’s actually filled with quiet reminders.

Top and center, you’ll see a wooden cross, as a way to remember that everything good flows down from God above.

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the people who matter most…

That cross was a gift to us, handcrafted by one of our all-time favorite people. (I told you about him and his wife here.)

I’ve also placed certain teacups and mugs on the shelves. Every one of them tells a story, reminding me of a person, either past or present, who has been a special part of my life. Like my own cloud of witnesses, those teacups and mugs stand behind me, spurring me onward.

You’ll also see a row of green depression-era drinking glasses. They’re from my grandma who was born in 1906 and lived through the Great Depression. During a time when people everywhere struggled to make ends meet, brightly colored glass was cheaply made to brighten those otherwise dreary days. My grandma held on to them until she gave them to me before passing at the age of 94.

I am reminded always of how much I have to be thankful for. But I’m not just grateful for the things; I’m grateful for the people these things represent, for the way they have shown love and care to me and my family over the years.

This includes people like you, who kindly give of your time to read my words. Thank you.

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good books and quiet aha moments…

Some of these shelves hold the books I’ve written, representing certain seasons of my life, and other shelves hold some of the commentaries I’ve read over the years.

Every book, whether my own or someone else’s, tells a story, and these stories have shaped my life — none more so than the one Book with living words.

I am so grateful for all the quiet moments of learning that happen through the voices of writers who have gone before me.

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my family…

And, of course, I’m grateful for my family. I don’t write much about them in this space because I’m committed to letting them tell their own stories. But golly they’re great.

It’s fun to have this space just for writing, but the truth is, most of my writing over the years has been done in various nooks and crannies around the house. Oftentimes I would write while curled up on the couch, late into the night, because it was the only time when I could be sure I wouldn’t be interrupted for a few hours. When the kids were younger, I’d even write in the minivan while waiting to pick them up from sports practice or dance rehearsal.

That’s just how the writing life goes — writing in the margins of each day, then thinking about those words while washing dishes or folding laundry or trying not to burn dinner. (It’s a sad fact that nobody in my family would flinch when the very loud smoke detector went off, because it just meant Mom was cooking again.)

But things are different now, partly because I don’t burn quite as many dinners as I used to, but mostly because the kids are grown, and the house is quiet. I can read and write during the day. I can go to bed at a decent hour. And I have this special place, just for my books and other writerly things.

Looking ahead, I am keeping an eye out for those quiet ways we can be a witness.

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the new life we have in Christ…

This coming Sunday after Thanksgiving Day, a new friend of mine will be baptized. We’re part of a Wednesday morning Bible study together. I haven’t known her long, but I’ve had the privilege of hearing her share some of her story. On Sunday she will stand before our congregation and give a public testimony to the life-transforming work that Christ has done in her life. As she goes down into the water and comes back up, I get to be there as a witness to the goodness of God in her life.

This is what we are called to be for each other: a witness. To both the good and the hard, and especially how God is present with us in it all.

Every one of us needs a few people around us, and not just online, but in real life, who will serve as the witnesses to our lives, who will draw near with a steady presence.

And we can be this kind of witness for others, with both our lives and our words, to the fact that they are loved, and Jesus is alive, and the Spirit of God is still bringing human souls from death to life by the redemption we have through the blood of Jesus Christ.

This is the best reason to be grateful.

Wherever you are today, I pray you are surrounded by a few witnesses of your own.

Shalom.

Denise

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a few notes…

*Here’s a song I’ve had on repeat lately; it’s called “I Am Thankful.”

*My new book, While Waiting for Morning: An Invitation to Pray, is now available. If you’re like me and you prefer to hold a printed book in your hands, you can pick up a copy at Barnes and Noble.

*Thank you for your vote of confidence when you tap on the “heart” at the top of each post. And, as always, you are welcome to share these words with a friend.

*And lastly, no part of this newsletter—nor anything I have ever published—has been made with Artificial Intelligence (AI) or ghostwriters. All of my words, including any accidental typos, are my own, except for when I quote others with appropriate citations and links.