Giving Thanks for The Saints in Our Lives.
November seems to be bookended by two important moments. We start the month with All Saints Day – when we remember those people who have sacrificed so much to help us – and end the month with Thanksgiving – a day when we give thanks to God for all of God’s blessings that we have received. I recently noticed online (https://laurastephensreed.wordpress.com) a month-long prayer calendar where we are challenged to give thanks each day for a specific saint that has helped us. Expressing thanks is such a pivotal part of our faith. Sometimes, due to our busyness, it is so easy to forget or simply not see all the reasons that we have to give thanks. So here is a list of saints whom you might be able to thank. Take time each day to not only say a prayer of thanks and pray a return blessing for one of these people, but also contact them and let them know how grateful you are for how they have impacted your life.
Here is a list of people to give thanks for each day during the month of November:
- Mentored you in your profession
- Helped you grow in faith
- Gave tangible help during a difficult time
- Founded an institution or movement that is important to you
- Showed tough love
- Coached you as you grew in skills and confidence
- Led a group that was significant in your formation
- ‘Treated you like a brother/sister
- Introduced you to grief by his/her loss
- Wrote something that deeply moved you
- Died before you could reconcile or reconnect with him/her
- Introduced you to a group/community
- Reminded you how to see the world like a child
- Advocated for you
- Showed you something key about yourself/your values by being your adversary
- Gave you a tangible object that continues to inspire you
- (Grand)mothered/(grand)fathered you
- Governed in a way that fostered trust and cooperation
- ‘Took you somewhere life-changing
- Made you feel seen in a time/place that you felt invisible
- ‘Trusted you with difficult but important knowledge
- Created art that speaks to your soul
- Let you ask your questions
- Pointed out your gifts
- Introduced you to a hobby
- Prayed for you
- Embodied the values you aspire to
- Disagreed with you but still loved you
- Supported you emotionally through a low point
- Did something for others in death that he/she couldn’t have done in life