Gratitude Amidst the Darkness

A New Kind of Thankfulness

By: Andrea Endries

At twenty-one years of age

I’ve had too many blessings to name,

but upon these last few years

my gratitude is not the same.

By no means am I unthankful

for my usual thanksgiving list,

But lately I find new blessings

Beautiful gifts with a divine twist.

I woke up early this morning

to a still, dark, lifeless sky

but I was thankful for the darkness

because the sun would soon be high.

I am thankful for my sprained ankle

even as it seems to get worse

It reminds me my strength is fleeting

And in God I must immerse. 

Sometimes my money seems low,

But for this I only smile

God cares enough about me,

to cure my materialistic lifestyle.

I am thankful for the loneliness 

I sometimes find so near

It only makes me long for more,

A sign I was not made for here.

I watch as the economy fails

But I find a quiet peace

As I know once this all ends

New Jerusalem will be released.

I see the hatred growing

I see the violence roar

I hear of children starving

I hear of strife and war.

How can I be thankful,

during happenings like these?

Because the prophecies assure me

God’s kingdom is in the breeze.

Some say its doom and gloom

to preach about the end

But the Word of God is sturdy

and this destruction, He will mend.

When things don’t go my way

Or when trouble meets my heart

I thank God that He has walked here

that His life gave mine a new start.

I am thankful for the cold, 

for the tears and for pain.

For it is these things that open my eyes

to the devil’s deadly game.

You see if life was always perfect

I might start to like it here,

But that comfort will lead to demise,

The truth is absolutely clear.

So it is with joy I write this,

and a peace that is unshaken.

sure, I have hard times,

but this life will only be taken.

 So, as surely as the sun 

is now lighting up my room,

I wait joyous in this world of darkness

for the Righteous Son to bloom.