What has God done for you this week?

The start of my awakening to God--for real--was a weekly phone call from my then "searching" friend. We were bffs in high school and wanted to keep in touch across the miles in the college years. We would talk aimlessly for a while. Then she would ask, "What has God done for you this week?" And it always threw me off. I wasn't used to thinking about God in a real relationship sort of way. I was always generally thankful, but to remember something specific to be thankful about at the end of a long week of studying... ? I could barely remember my readings from the night before!

I started slowly, recalling basic things: He helped me pass a test, He helped me finish a paper. Being competitive, each week I tried to one-up myself, to find something better, stronger, more specific to be thankful about.

I had a lot of knowledge about God. My father, God bless him, took it upon himself to teach and explain everything about the faith. But he always ended by shaking his head a little and saying, "Taste and see how good the Lord is." He knew that true faith comes from experience, from opening your eyes and heart to what God has done for you.

This habit of recognizing God and His works around--and for--me has stuck with me all these years. Thanksgiving is so essential to recognizing the joy in my life. I am always working on being more thankful. Sometimes it's hard to accept the idea that as His child I am important to God, that He would leave an entire flock to look for me when I am lost. Habitually seeing the small gestures of love from Him, make the bigger gestures even more incredibly awesome. A train whistle. A bird sent to serenade me. The ocean, wide and blue. These tiny reminders that He's there and that He cares mean everything on the gray days.

In the Coptic prayer book of the hours--called the Agpeya from agape--we start with a prayer of thanksgiving which says, "We thank You for every condition, concerning every condition, and in every condition." Note that word every which we repeated three times. Even if things seem terrible, we are still thankful, and that helps us find joy in the sorrow, light in the darkness.

What has God done for you this week?