"One of them, when he saw he was healed, came back, praising God in a loud voice. 
He threw himself at Jesus’ feet and thanked him--
​and he was a Samaritan." ​

At a recent Regional Synod board meeting, our president shared the story from Luke 17 about a leper who came back to Jesus to thank him for the healing he had received. I'm not sure why, but it hadn't struck me until that day that this man was a Samaritan (the race despised by Jews). Jesus was always pushing buttons, wasn't he? He was always showing that unlikely people in unusual circumstances could be recipients of grace too. This man was an outcast on two counts: he was a Samaritan and he was a leper. What a difficult and despised life he had led. And YET, Jesus healed him. And YET, he was the only one who slowed down in that mad dash to be cleansed by the priests, turned around, and came back to give thanks to the Lord of Life.

In these difficult days of global pandemic, polarizing politics, and denominational upheaval (not to mention everything else we've each got on our plates), I wonder where we might need to slow down, turn around, and give thanks. Is it when you take your daily walk with crisp blue skies overhead and colourful leaves underfoot? Is it when your Zoom worship service goes without a technical glitch? Is it when your family member makes you dinner, or a friend calls to say hello? Is it the smile of a stranger at the grocery store? Is it when you open your eyes in the morning and realize you've been given another day of life?

For me, it's often when I'm going through the most difficult times that the smallest things give me a glimmer of hope, lift my spirit, and remind me to give thanks for another day of living.

What fills your heart with gratitude? What causes you to stop in your tracks and turn around to give thanks?

i thank You God for most this amazing
day: for the leaping greenly spirits of trees
and a blue true dream of sky; and for everything
which is natural which is infinite which is yes
​- e.e. cummings