May 17, 2018

By Cathi Duffy

From the Spring SHCJ Associates Newsletter

When I lost power for four days in early March, I found myself praying prayers of gratitude, and I discover that I was not alone. Another Province office staff member shared the same experience. Despite the inconveniences, we were well aware that we were the lucky ones. We were grateful that the power outages did not include any physical damage to our homes, cars, or person. We were safe and healthy. We had places to go to get warm. We still had water, and we knew that our loss of power was short-term. We were each grateful, and we thanked God.

We were grateful that unlike so many in the world, we had a roof over our heads, lived in relative comfort, and equipped with electricity, water, and heating with few interruptions year in and year out. We prayed for others who did not have these comforts. We each knew that our situation was temporary and for that, we were full of gratitude for the blessings God showers on us each day.

For all the minor inconveniences of those days, we prayed in gratitude that we would soon return to our daily routines. We were well aware that others who suffered due to hurricanes, earthquakes, and fires, spending months or perhaps years returning to a “normal” life. We prayed for all these people.

We were also praying for all those who were working tirelessly outdoors to restore power. Prayers of gratitude seemed to increase during this time.

There was not a conscious effort to pray in this way. It sprang naturally from an abundance of gratitude for the gifts that God bestows. It was hard to focus on own “suffering” for we realized how small the cross we carried truly was. In many ways, these prayers of gratitude carried us through those days until we each again found our homes full of light and warmth!