With Grateful Affection

This is the season for expressing gratitude. Or rather, though we ought to be grateful at every moment for all our blessings, this is the season it is easiest to remember. It is easy to be grateful for a new book to read, delightful food, loyal friends, and that cozy satisfaction of burrowing under blankets with a mug of something warm and delicious and the companionship of silence. Even solitude is something to be grateful for.
I am brimming with gratitude this morning. I thank the Lord for His love for me…that He first wanted me, so very long before I ever wanted Him, ever wanted to belong to Him. I love celebrating Advent. I love praying the Liturgy of the Hours with its special Advent readings and antiphons. I love preparing our house with pretty decorations and sweet food (read cookies) to bring more expressions of joy and welcome into our home.
I'm so grateful to have a job, to have really amazing friends, and a lovely flatmate. I thank Him that I even have a vocation to look forward to, a life that will be beautiful because it is meaningful, and that finally, after these twenty-three short years, finally He revealed it to me. Praise Him still.
Well, I could go on, but I think that's a good list to publish. Gratitude has led to praise, and praise has led to hope, and hope is a thing with wings.