Reflect
Choosing to reframe or not focus on negative experiences gives them less power. This is true, too, for negative media and violent movies. Savoring positive memories magnifies them, building our psychological immune system to cushion failures and disappointments. As Lutheran Pastor Dietrich Bonhoeffer—martyred in a Nazi concentration camp—said, “Gratitude changes the pangs of memory into grateful joy.”
Pray
God, we thank you
for your fidelity
and the examples
of faithful people—
those who surround us,
those in history.
May we take our place
in this company of saints.
Amen.
Act
Read the story of the ten lepers in the Gospel of Luke 17:11-19, where only one returns to thank Jesus for his cure. Imagine getting—and being cured of—a modern, deadly disease. Which of the ten would you be?
