A Prayer of Gratitude in Hard Times

Father, this is not the season I would have chosen. The weight has not lifted, the answer has not come, and yet here I am trying to say thank You with a tired voice.

I confess this does not come naturally right now. Part of me feels like gratitude in the middle of all this is pretending, like I am supposed to smile when I want to sit down and weep.

But I am not thanking You for the pain. I am thanking You inside it. For the cup of coffee that still tasted like something this morning. For the person who texted at the right moment without knowing why. For the fact that I got out of bed again when staying under the covers would have been easier.

Your word says to give thanks in all circumstances, not for all of them, and I am holding tightly to that difference tonight. In the middle of the trouble, not because of it. You never asked me to be glad about the wound, only to keep reaching for You through it.

Be the floor under me that does not give way. Let this small, stubborn thank You be a crack of light under the door, proof that the dark has not taken everything.

I trust that You are doing something I cannot see yet. Keep my heart soft while I wait for the morning. Amen.