On Gratitude | Walker Hill ‘25

“I pray for a heart of faith. A heart of gratitude. A heart of love. One that is quick to love my neighbor, and my enemy. One that learns to love and learns to be loved. I want to sit with God. To trust Him. To trust others. To grow in trustworthiness. I want to learn to wait. To wait for God. To wait for others. To wait patiently for myself. Life will move quickly... I want to move slowly. Make time to praise. To relish. To awe. And to love.” - End of the year Faith & Calling Statement for Horizons Fellows

“Oh give thanks to the Lord, for He is good; for His steadfast love endures forever” - 1 Chronicles 16:34

The last day of class holds many emotions: joy, sadness, love, sorrow, hope, doubt, excitement, uncertainty. It holds life and it holds loss. How do I stay present? How do I cherish my last walk to class? How do I fully take in the sight of the Rotunda?

I have found myself asking these questions daily, but especially today. What can I possibly do to remember, to embrace, to cherish, and to hold onto these precious, fleeting moments? I don’t have an ideal answer for these questions. I don’t have a perfect memory that will hold these moments forever. I don’t have a phone with unlimited storage to take photos. But I do have a simple practice that each and every one of us is capable of: gratitude. Oh of course, gratitude! The cliché encouragement to all struggles. And while that may be your initial response (and mine too), I firmly believe it is the only way to stay present, to cherish my last walk to class, and to fully take in the sight of the Rotunda.

With that, I want to thank You, Lord. I want to thank You for these moments with friends. I want to thank You for my last walk to class and I want to thank You for the stroll I took around the Lawn today. Thank You for the beautiful gifts, the precious moments and the wonderful friends that You have blessed me with at UVA. Thank You for the memories of driving down Garth Road. Thank You for the nights we stayed up dancing. And thank You for the nights we fell asleep crying. Thank You for the sad, lonely times. And thank You for the heart-filled, joyful laughter. Thank You for 4 years that brought me closer to You, that made me wrestle with You, that made me doubt You, that made me praise You, and that ultimately has left me with two words: thank You.

I pray for more moments and memories that leave me speechless - moments in which my only option is to say, “thank you, Lord”. When I walk the Lawn alongside my best friends on May 17th and when I say my last goodbyes and when I am too exhausted and sad to make conversation, I want to have enough gratitude in my heart to say, “thank you, Lord”.