“Constantly Awakening to New Wonder”

This week, our Monday morning Bible study group focused on Luke 17:11-19, the story of ten men with a skin disease that caused them to be banished from society. When Jesus entered their village, they kept their distance as they implored him to heal them. Jesus told them to go to the priest and be declared cured and fit to re-enter society. As the men left to do this, they were healed, but only one of them returned to thank Jesus.

I might have been one of the nine who didn’t return to express gratitude. I don’t always think about the many reasons I have to be grateful each day. I tend at times to take things for granted. But just being able to do common everyday things are reasons enough for being grateful. I am able to move about freely and easily. I have all the hot water I need in a home that is comfortably heated. There’s plenty of food in the fridge and the pantry. On and on the gratitude list goes throughout an average day from the time I wake up until it’s time to go back to bed.

Toward the end of our hour together, we read a quote by Thomas Merton from his book Thoughts in Solitude. One of the sentences read, “Gratitude therefore takes nothing for granted, is never unresponsive, is constantly awakening to new wonder, and to praise of the goodness of God.” There couldn’t be a better way for me to live the rest of my life than to be “constantly awakening to new wonder.” May it be so.