My mother said every persimmon has a sun

inside, something golden, glowing,

warm as my face.

— from Persimmons, a poem by Yi-Young Lee

Because attention attracts gratitude and gratitude expands joy, it's time for Thankful Thursday.

This week I am thankful for persimmons. I'm late to discovery — just last year I tasted my first — and now again, this week. A gift. A seasonal surprise.

Lately gratitude comes in small bits: a slice of pie, the relief of sun, a long walk.

I search for big moments but experience no epiphanies. A friend and I once laughed about people who use God to justify dramatic actions, like quitting their jobs or traveling to foreign countries to "save" others. Why doesn't God call me? I'd half-joke. I've got a phone and a passport, why don't I get a lightning bolt or a grand vision?

But I'm not a grand kind of person. I cocoon to soft music, books, quiet. God meets people like me in the library or in other quiet people.

"You can't tell people enough that you love them," a friend said the other day, and it seemed the truest thing I'd heard in weeks. Maybe that was God talking. Sometimes I don't hear, or don't listen, and I miss these moments, small as they are. Big as they are.

It's Thankful Thursday. What are you thankful for today?