“Consolation in desolation”
There’s a photo on my Facebook page that always fills my heart with gratitude. The year was 2018, and Hurricane Michael had struck our community in October. When November arrived, the local charities who distributed gifts to children in need wondered how in the world Christmas gifts could be collected in a community where most stores remained closed. Many churches were struggling to find the resources to help their parishioners and resume worship on a normal schedule.
There’s a photo on my Facebook page that always fills my heart with gratitude. The year was 2018, and Hurricane Michael had struck our community in October. When November arrived, the local charities who distributed gifts to children in need wondered how in the world Christmas gifts could be collected in a community where most stores remained closed. Many churches were struggling to find the resources to help their parishioners and resume worship on a normal schedule.
I didn’t know what to expect, but I posted an Amazon wish list for our local Catholic Charities to my Facebook profile. I was amazed by the kindness of friends and strangers — many from South Carolina — who responded with so much generosity. When I walked into the office just a few days later, it was filled with boxes, all filled with donations of Christmas gifts for children in need sent by countless individuals who saw our appeal for help and responded.
Every time my phone shows me this photo of piles of Christmas-laden boxes in my office (see the photo at left for proof!), I’m reminded of the goodness of people. At a time when I felt helpless when faced with the significant needs of my community, God used the kindness of friends and strangers to show me that he works in so many ways, including an Amazon wish list.
The last few months have held an abundance of disheartening news on all outlets. There have been devastating acts of violence and force both overseas and in the U.S. There is a lot of suffering, and the response appears to be increasingly bitter discourse at a national and local level.
St. Ignatius of Loyola counseled “remember consolation in our desolation.” This isn’t to discount the suffering that many are experiencing, but in a week of bleak news, I was especially grateful when my photos shuffled to that pile of boxes that grew in my office in 2018. It reminded me of the gratitude I felt for the kindness of strangers, and of the many other times I experienced connection and compassion. It was consolation in the midst of difficult news and harder conversations.
What consolations can we recall in our lives, during a season that invites us to be thankful? So much of our media is focused on the here and now. I find I have to be very intentional to remember the blessings I have experienced in prior days and weeks.
In addition to the memories on my phone, I use a planner that invites me to reflect monthly on what I’m grateful for. At this stage of life, a bulleted list is all I can usually jot down, but it still helps me cultivate gratitude. I have a small group of friends in a group chat and we share both prayer requests and praise reports: the ways we see God working every day, even if it’s a child sleeping through the night for once or acing a spelling test. I know some who keep lists of answered prayers on a chalkboard in their kitchen; I love logging into social media and seeing gratitude being shared in photos or stories.
A pile of Amazon boxes or the first smile you are offered each day — there is good in the world and many reasons to be grateful. Remembering the gifts of the past and present can offer consolation when the day-to-day news and discussions feel difficult.
What reminds you, daily, to give thanks to God?
Alison Blanchet, LMHC, lives in Panama City with her husband and three children. She works as a therapist for children and teens. Email her at alisondblanchet@gmail.com.
