Rev. Lori: Gratitude in the Liminal Spaces
This reflection was originally published in the previous week’s Friday Flyer.
Hello Good People,
Gratitude is the theme of the month and sometimes I think it is hard to connect to gratitude these days. Gratitude in difficult times is not about denying pain, or suffering, or loss—it’s about widening our view to include the light that still flickers amid the shadows. When life feels heavy, gratitude becomes a quiet act of resistance, a way of saying that love and goodness still matter. Even the smallest kindness, the steady breath, the hand that helps us up—these become anchors. In hard times, gratitude reminds us that we are not alone, and that healing often begins with noticing what remains.
In spite of, or perhaps because of the challenges we are facing right now, I have witnessed and experienced so much gratitude this past week. Gratitude from those experiencing challenges this week who are being supported by family and community. Gratitude for that care and support that is freely and lovingly given. Gratitude from those of us that are being given the opportunity to serve right now. The Hope Squad was overwhelmed with our snack offerings for the ambulance. There is a heartbreaking need. There is a heart warming response. I am grateful to be with you all in the “in between” of it. We aren’t looking away and we aren’t crumbling. We are standing shoulder to shoulder and incarnating our principles in community. It is a hard and beautiful opportunity at the same time.
Gratitude for the in-between spaces invites us to honor the pauses—the moments of not yet and no longer. These are thresholds where growth quietly happens, where we rest between what has ended and what is beginning. It can be tempting to rush past uncertainty, angst, pain, anger, fear or other uncomfortable feelings but gratitude teaches us to linger, to trust that these liminal spaces are sacred too. Even the tough spaces. In the in-between, gratitude becomes a gentle companion, reminding us that even here—especially here—life is unfolding with purpose. In this liminal time of year, this time of the thin veil, may we find our rest and our inspiration in the gift and love of and for community and continue to pay it forward so beautifully.
I invite you to pause for a moment and take 3 deep breaths. I invite you to consider what the concept of in between space means to you right now. What have you come through that you can let go of? Are you ready to let go? Or what else do you have to learn before you do? This could be uncomfortable. Please feel that. Be grateful for the discomfort because it means something important is occurring. You may be in between but you are not alone!
Peace and Blessings
Rev Lori Whittemore
(she, her, hers)
Unitarian Universalist Church of Saco Biddeford