A Walk of Thanksgiving

~Sr. Thelma Hall, R.C.

I walk in thanksgiving

for the sunlit years of childhood

for tall trees and dewy morning grass

for warm winds and singing birds and yellow flower cups

for laughter and discovery and the gift of wonder . . .

And because I walk in thanksgiving, I walk in belief.

I walk in thanksgiving

          for the years of growing awareness of life

          of a world peopled with life and alive with people

          of my own self as one among many selves

          fashioning myself through reaching out and up;

          for the experience of growth through uncertainty,

                    the risk of life, of love, of liberty . . .

And because I walk in thanksgiving, I walk in trust . . .

I walk in thanksgiving

          for friendship and insight and the gift of prayer

          for windy nights and sunsplit waves

          for the splendor of autumn on rocky peaks

                    gold on green, and flame against blue,

          for music and balloons and the song of the world

          for the intensity of life, for challenge and delight . . .

And because I walk in thanksgiving, I walk in joy.

I walk in thanksgiving

          for life that comes, not as a whole, but in little pieces called people;

          for tenderness and strength, for gentleness and warmth

          for weakness and pain, for anguish and ambiguity

          for laughter and courage and the gift of friends

          for the risk of life and the risk of God . . .

And because I walk in thanksgiving, I walk in love.

I walk in thanksgiving for faith and hope and joy and love

And because I walk in thanksgiving, I walk in God.