Wonderful Deeds

"We give thanks to you, O God; we give thanks; we call on your name and tell your wonderful deeds," Psalm 75:1.
But how to give thanks when tragedy strikes? gratitude, when God's deeds don't seem all that wonderful? Well, we don't. Not at first, for sure. Most folk tune into Job's cry: God, why do you contend against me? Or Martha's: If you had been here, my brother would not have died. If only God acted differently. Then, having vented, we recognize God's still hard at work changing history. So with Job we also say, The Lord gives, the Lord takes away - blessed be the name of the Lord. And with Martha, Yes, Lord; I believe you are the Christ. And then we give thanks in hope for life changes God has wrought and yet does work until the consummation of the age.
As we move from this reading, we acknowledge tough reality, consider God's work, and then we give thanks with grateful hearts. Don't let the sun go down on your gratitude: share troubles with a brother or a sister, and then tell of God's wonderful deeds in your life.