Grateful

I mentioned on Monday that my mother had two surgeries in June. During one of those surgeries, while I was in the surgical waiting room, I overheard a conversation between two other waiting family members. 

They were upset that their family member's surgery had been postponed to a later time in the day, necessitating that they spend a longer amount of time in the waiting room than they had planned for. They were from out of town, so when the surgery was complete, and the patient finished with recovery, they would get a late start on the drive back home.

They were not happy, and their unhappiness was very loud.

It made me think about the woman who was waiting for her surgery to start. I'm sure she was afraid and unhappy, and at the end of the day, when her family was home, she would have been through surgery and had to start recovery.

It seems like - even though I understand the impatience of the waiting family - that their day was not the worst it could have been. 

We do that sometimes, I think. We lose our empathy, and we live in our complaints. At the end of a Thursday in June, when I was dealing with the emergency surgery for one parent and the death of the another, I was still able to go home with my husband. We need to remember that living in our complaints can be crushing.  Where can you be grateful today?

Open Your Eyes to Joy

 This is a devotional that I wrote for the WV Annual Conference Advent Devotional Ministry this year.

³ I thank my God every time I mention you in my prayers. ⁴ I’m thankful for all of you every time I pray, and it’s always a prayer full of joy. ⁵ I’m glad because of the way you have been my partners in the ministry of the gospel from the time you first believed it until now. ⁶ I’m sure about this: the one who started a good work in you will stay with you to complete the job by the day of Christ Jesus.  Philippians 1:3-6

 

Several years ago, when I was Nurture Chairperson of my church, the responsibility for our church’s Wednesday evening dinners was thrust upon me. The truth is, I was resentful of the work and worry of picking up the dinners, preparing them, serving them, and cleaning up afterwards.  For six weeks I worked full of indignation. Have you ever felt this way?

 

After the six weeks, out of habit, I wrote thank you notes to all of the volunteers who had helped. It was a lot of notes; it was a pile of gratitude. After the cards were mailed, I realized I was no longer resentful – I was only thankful.

 

Paul wrote in Philippians (from prison) that he was “thankful for all of you every time I pray, and it’s always a prayer full of joy.”  I wasn’t at all joyful when I was working on the church dinners – I was only resentful. It wasn’t until I felt thankful that I found joy. I don’t think joy is the same thing as happiness; I believe joy is something we feel when we are close to God. That means it was gratitude – thankfulness – that brought me to awareness of joy and of God in the work I had done.

 

I lead the Conference Certified Lay Ministry Course. We meet once a month via Zoom. No matter how tired I am when we start, when I turn off the Zoom and close my computer, I feel thankful. I am grateful for the people who have heard God’s call to ministry and have joined the class.  Every time. It is a joy. Paul’s joy in the people for whom he was praying led him to write to them, “I’m sure about this: the one who started a good work in you will stay with you to complete the job by the day of Christ Jesus.” I think Paul could see the work of Christ in the people of the Philippian Church because he was thankful for them.

 

Gratitude is the key to seeing the people of God and God at work in them. When you are resentful, when you are tired, when you are discouraged, take a moment to offer your thanksgiving. I think God will open your eyes to the joy.

 

Prayer: Loving God, open our prayers to thanksgiving, our hearts to joy, and our eyes to each other. Amen.

How do we thank God for you?

Roughly inspired by 1 Thessalonians 3:9-13

I imagine this as a letter to a church

How do we thank God for you?

For your life, your work, your service?

How can we thank God for the joy you bring?

We pray without pausing,

night and day,

with all intensity,

to see you again,

face to face.

We pray that we may bring you faith

the way you have strengthened our faith.

May God set the path

so that we can come to you.

May God direct our way to you.

May God grow the love that is found among you

so that it is abundance and obvious.

So that your light shines for all.

So that the love we feel for you

will be felt among you.

And may God strengthen your hearts

Strengthen your faith

So that holiness is like the water that washes you clean each day.

May you be blameless before God

in the grace God has provided.

 

Say Thank You

One of the Lectionary readings for Thanksgiving Day is Luke 17:11-19.  This is the story of the 10 lepers who approach Jesus in the region between Samaria and Galilee.  They cry out, and Jesus heals them.  One of the ten, seeing that he was healed, turned back and praised God, thanking Jesus. 

I remember this story as a kid as sort of a morality play, encouraging us to use the "magic words" - please, thank you, etc.  Not only that, but I saw it as a story that taught that God/Jesus EXPECTS us to say thank you - to be grateful for our blessings, and to say so. As an adult, I see so much more in the story.

Is it important that the story identifies the thankful healed leper as a Samaritan? I think it must be.  The Samaritan would have been the outsider. He probably wasn't really expecting Jesus, the Jew, to heal him, so when he found himself healed, maybe he was moved to gratitude.

What is really interesting to me is not just that the man was grateful, but that in receiving the healing, his eyes were opened and he recognized in Jesus the presence of God.

Did Jesus need gratitude? No.  But I think we do, right? In the ex-leper's gratitude, he found the grace of the unexpected blessing and the recognition of God. Gratitude does something to set ourselves aside and to focus on the external - on the one who is blessing us.

 

Teach the Story

 Have you read Psalm 78 recently? Psalm 78:1-7 is one of the lectionary readings for November 12 of this year (Year A).

Give ear, O my people, to my teaching; incline your ears to the words of my mouth.  I will open my mouth in a parable; I will utter dark sayings from of old, things that we have heard and known, that our ancestors have told us.

We will not hide them from their children; we will tell to the coming generation the glorious deeds of the LORD, and his might, and the wonders that he has done.

He established a decree in Jacob, and appointed a law in Israel, which he commanded our ancestors to teach to their children; that the next generation might know them, the children yet unborn, and rise up and tell them to their children, so that they should set their hope in God, and not forget the works of God, but keep his commandments.

As I'm writing this post (I write ahead of the blog), it is the Friday before the celebration of All Saints Day in our church.  I think of the people who are no longer with us who were my teachers, and I am grateful for them.

This part of Psalm 78 was written "as a summons to teach the story of God's saving deeds to the next generation " (Note from The New Interpreter's Study Bible).  I love how it starts: listen, I will tell you a story....

Who were your teachers? As we approach Thanksgiving, for whom are you thankful? How will you follow the command of the Psalm to tell the coming generation of the glorious deeds of the Lord?

Perspectives: Gratitude Door

  An oldie but a goodie.  Gratitude Door

Your Hands

Earlier this week, I wrote about breathing, and how we can be grateful for breath.  In the same devotional time when I was asked to breathe deeply, I was then asked to look at my hands.  

We've thought alot about our hands lately. We wash them. We try to keep them away from our faces.  We cover them with sanitizer.  And then with hand lotion. We try not to touch our faces.  We wash our hands.  

There are those things that our hands have not been able to do lately.  We can't shake hands.  We rarely are able to wrap our hands and arms around someone we love - either for fear of infection or just plane distance.  We avoid touching surfaces.  I am a tactile person, and touching something brings me information I need to process it.  Even the act of picking of a package in the supermarket leaves me with the worry that I have somehow contaminated it for the next person who may touch it.  Our hands may not be turning the pages of a hymnal or receiving the bread of communion.

And then there are the things are hands are doing that isn't usual.  We may be typing on the computer more or starting more Zoom calls.  We may be picking up the telephone to speak with someone when telephone conversations aren't our favorite way to communication.  We are using our hands to hook a mask around our ears and to then carefully remove it.  We wave goodbye as we leave a virtual meeting, and we hold our phones up to the laptop camera to show someone a picture. 

Take a moment and be grateful for your hands.  Grab some hand lotion and give your hard-working hands a moment of peace as you care for them.  Hold your hands together or hold them open and give thanks for the ministry that God is doing through you, even if it is different than it was a few months ago. Give thanks for the hope your hands can bring.  Give thanks. Receive peace. Amen.

Breathe

 In the past few weeks, I have participated in two different devotional moments in which the speaker asked us to consider our breath.  To breathe deeply, releasing whatever tension has accumulated in our lives and to breathe in the presence of God - of hope and joy.

Both times that has happened, I have thought of those in our world who are not able to breathe as easily or as deeply as I can.  Most specifically, I think of those infected with the SARS-CoV-2, who are suffering from COVID-19.  A person who is battling the disease would not be able to breathe deeply; he (or she) would have shortness of breath or difficulty breathing.  Or perhaps he would be on a ventilator, unable to breathe on his own at all.  And as I sit at my desk, I can breathe easily and deeply, thinking of those who cannot.

For just a moment, as you are reading this, pause and take a deep breathe.  Hold it.  Release it.  

I pray you are able to breathe easily and deeply, and that you are filled with thanksgiving for what we every day take for granted.  May God fill you with hope and peace this day as you breathe in God's presence. Amen.

Happy Thanksgiving

 A pastor in our Annual Conference posted on Facebook that she received an email the other day that said, "The *** Office is currently closed.  Happy Thanksgiving."  (I removed the name of the office intentionally to not point out someone else's error publicly).  It was a mistake, but it's a great one for June.

And then I started thinking.  And these verses from 1 Thessalonians 5:16-18 came to mind:   "Rejoice always, pray without ceasing, give thanks in all circumstances; for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus for you."

What would it look like in our world if every day were a day of thanksgiving? Can you find something for which to be thankful today? Take a moment and think about it.  Send up a prayer of thanksgiving.  Hard to do? Then it might be even more important that you work harder at it today.  And then, find someone to thank for something.  Thank God and thank someone else.  

What would life be like if we did this every day?

Perspectives: Gratitude Door

Happy Thanksgiving!

(And why, may I ask, is that picture not black and white? Although I'm thankful for the color)

Gratitude

Still thinking about yesterday's post...

I was watching a video on Youtube; the woman speaking was wearing a t-shirt that said "Gratitude is the best attitude." Normally I would say that something short and catchy like that that rhymes couldn't possibly be true - that it boils down any truth so much that the truth boils away, leaving a sludge of rhyme and catchyness that can trick us into believing it is true when it really is only emptiness.

But I think there is truth in this phrase.

Sunday in worship Terry said, "You can't be resentful and loving at the same time." (Or something close to that.). 

Can you hold resentfulness and gratitude in your hand at the same time? Life is complicated, so I can't say anything is true all of the time, but I think most of the time, if we are resentful, we have no room left for gratitude.

And if we are grateful, then we can be loving, forgiving, and generous.  Gratitude opens us up to beauty and kindness - both seeing it and offering it.

Maybe gratitude is the best attitude.

Gratitude

Gratitude unlocks the fullness of life. It turns what we have into enough, and more. It turns denial into acceptance, chaos into order, confusion to clarity. It can turn a meal into a feast, a house into a home, a stranger into a friend (Melody Beattie).

What do you notice about the above quote?

As I read it during our office meeting for a devotional, it occurred to me that gratitude turns a meal into a feast, a house into a home, and a stranger into a friend.

The meal, the house, and the stranger did not change.  The way the person is looking at them has changed.

Do you know people who are always experiencing problems? Who only have complaints to share? Who never seem to have a good day?

And do you know people who don't complain, who have lots of good days?

Could it be that they are looking at their lives differently?  And could the way we look at the world change our experience of it?

Gratitude.  It's not magic, but it is transformational.

Discipline of Gratitude

Think about gratitude. Gratitude is a necessary. It's not an obligation, like saying the "magic words" of thank you when someone does something for you.  It's a way of living.  It's how we step away from resentment, greed, and selfishness.  It's how we open ourselves up to a life with God.  

Read this from Henri Nouwen's book, The Return of the Prodigal Son:

Gratitude, however, goes beyond the "mine" and "thine" and claims the truth that all of life is a pure gift.  In the past I always thought of gratitude as a spontaneous response to the awareness of gifts received, but now I realize that gratitude can also be lived as a discipline. The discipline of gratitude is the explicit effort to acknowledge that all I am and have is given to me as a gift of love, a gift to be celebrated with joy.

Have you ever considered gratitude to be a discipline? Do you make an explicit, intentional effort to recognize that "all you are and have is given to you as a gift of love."

What would change in your life (and in mine) if we practiced the discipline of gratitude?

Hallelujah

In Sunday school last week, the teacher asked us to share when we had experienced great joy. The room was silent. Interesting, this is not a group that hasn't experienced joy, I'm sure. There is happiness here, but we all had trouble vocalizing it.

Then, this morning, in the concluding chapter of Peterson's book, Psalms: Prayers of the Heart, he writes about Psalm 150, "In Hebrew the first and last word of this prayer is hallelujah ("praise the Lord"). To what extent is your life bracketed by this word?

So that's the question I bring to you today. How is your life bracketed by the praise of God? Do you begin and end with Hallelujah? 

In the depth and details of each day, I think we lose our ability to see the joy and to find the presence of God. In my bullet journal, I have a spread called Gratitude. Each day I fill two lines of the book with what I am grateful for that day. Sometimes it takes a moment for me to find it - it's not that the joy isn't there - it's that I have to remember to look for it. I'm grateful for the practice of gratitude because it opens my eyes to joy.

Try it for a week and see if you see more joy - see if your days can end on an Hallelujah.

Gratitude quotes

As part of my bullet journaling this week, I’ve been finding a gratitide quote each day. These are the ones I including in my journal:

• I don’t have to chase extraordinary moments to find happiness - it’s right in front of me if I’m paying attention and practicing gratitude (Brene Brown).
• Gratitude can transform common days into thanksgiving, turn routine jobs into joy, and change ordinary opportunities into blessings (William Arthur Ward).
• Joy is the simplest form of gratitude (Karl Barth).
• Gratitude unlocks the fullness of life. It turns what we have into enough, and more. It turns denial into acceptance, chaos into order, confusion to clarity. It can turn a meal into a feast, a house into a home, a stranger into a friend (Melody Beattie).
• Gratitude changes the pangs if memory into tranquil joy (Dietrich Bonhoeffer).

Scents of Gratitude

I am a knitter, and as a knitter, I read knitting blogs. Now that I don't knit quite as much as I used to, I've narrowed my knitting blog list down, but I still enjoy Carole knits. She posts several times a week - and only a small part of what she posts is about knitting. Her blog is mainly a chronicle of her life, and I enjoy seeing her photography, reading her stories, and, yes, checking out her knitting.

She does a regular Thursday (I think it's Thursdays) post called Three Things.  This week's three things was Three things that are the scent of gratitude for you.  That one intrigued me, so here's my three things:

1. Steve's cologne - Ever since we strarted dating, Steve has worn the same cologne. I hope they never stop making it, because, for me, it is Steve's scent.  It's Lagerfeld. I love how it smells, I love it on Steve, but most of all, when I smell it, I am grateful for my wonderful husband.
2. At Rotary last week, the guest speaker was the owner of Charleston Bread.  Listening to the owner talk about the bread she bakes and seeing pictures of it had me craving her bread.  So, on Thursday evening, I stopped at the bakery on the way home to pick up a loaf of bread to go with our spaghetti for the evening. The store has a small parking lot next to it. After I parked, and got out of my car, I could smell the bread baking.  That is the scent of gratitude for me. Baking bread.
3. Around here, we are starting to think about Thanksgiving. Thanksgiving has a certain smell, doesn't it? Turkey cooking? It is the scent of gratitude for me - it reminds me of family gathered around the table, sharing a meal.

What scents are scents of gratitude for you?

Gratitude

Yesterday, I wrote about anger, and the anger I fell about the loss of our dog. Anger and heartbreak are not the only feelings I have right now. I am also experiencing gratitude.

I'm grateful to so many people for what they did to try to find her or to support us as we looked and after we found her.

The man who received the wrong dog searched for her, even after he knew it wasn't his dog who was missing. The vet and his staff looked for her everywhere they could think of. They printed and handed out fliers. There is a man associated with a no-kill shelter in town who spent days and nights looking and distributing fliers. The people at animal control were very helpful and understanding. Strangers in businesses listened to our story and hung fliers. They shared our grief when we returned and told them the rest of the story.

Friends at church offered support. The choir sent a card, signed by all. Friends of ours suggested next steps and helped with them, then spent time with us afterward, to listen and offer distraction. Family members and friends looked for her and prayed for us. And then there is the man who called, crying, to tell us he had found her. The list literally goes on and on. 

Gratitude is a kind of grace, isn't it. Make a list of what stirs your heart to gratitude, and in it you will find comfort.

Grateful

In the past, I have taken up the practice of listing 3 "things" for which I am grateful.  It's a nice practice, and it is an intentional way to move one's mind away from negative thoughts - it is a way to see those things that are good (Philippians 4:8).

Today, as I sat down with my Emmaus prayer journal, I couldn't find an entrance to prayer.  I wrote the word Grateful, and thought about those 3 things for which I am grateful.  My mind moved the letters, and I wondered if I could change the list a little, so that each item began with a letter from the word.  Which is what I did:

Grateful

Grapes: the sweet taste of grapes with cheddar and pretzels and conversation with Steve as we fixed dinner.
Rain: not always my favorite weather, but it brought coolness
Amens: the reminder this week of the blessings disciplines can be in spiritual life, and my current practice of intentional prayer time
Time together: early this week with family
Encouragement: the opportunity to encourage others; the experience of being encouraged
Flavor; the joy that taste can bring; the spice that spontaneity brings to life; the joy of friends
Understanding: seeking to learn and understand more of what seems difficult
Love: being loved, loving

Note about image:  This past year at the beach, we watched a thunderstorm on the ocean.  The lightning flashes were almost constant, and I was able to catch this one with the camera.  Another one of those "take a million pictures, and hope one is good" occasions.

A Delayed Thank You

Today, a gentleman named Mark called our office to speak to me.  He was calling to thank me for a scholarship we sent to him from a Trust we hold at our Foundation.  That's a great kind of call to receive, and it reminds me that the work we do here changes lives.

What was even more interesting was that we sent him the scholarship in 2012.  "I've been meaning to call you and thank you or to write a letter."  Over two years have gone by, and still he remembers the scholarship and has a need to thank us for it.  And the truth is, the thank you is just as wonderful today as it would have been in 2012 - maybe even more so.

What's on your mind that you need to do?  Is there a sympathy card you meant to send out, but didn't get to?  Is there a thank you or an encouragement that has stayed on your mind?  Can you follow Mark's example and pick up the phone or your pen or pull out your keyboard, and go ahead and do what God is nudging you to do?  It's probably not too late.  Go ahead.

Give Thanks

I mentioned last week that I spent some time in prayer after communion just thanking God for all of the wonderfulness in my life. It's am amazing practice, because thanksgiving builds a way of looking at the world.

Kalas, in the book I am reading, asks, "Why express your gratitude to other people?"  He answers the questions, and here are my answers (some of which are the same as his):

• We are called to spread light.  Remember yesterday when I quoted the idea that gratitude is love with a memory?  Sharing gratitude for a service given is sharing love, and that is light.  We do it because we are called to do it.
• What if the other person doesn't seem to care about our words of thanks?  First of all, you don't really know what effect your words and actions will have on another person.  Secondly....
• Being grateful transforms who you are.  When we are grateful, we see more for which to be grateful.  
• And to put it bluntly, life needs more grace from you and me that it needs silence, or even grumbling.  

So give thanks.  Kalas, in the first half hour of each day, lists those things from the previous day, for which he is thankful.  I've done that for periods of time.  It's helpful to me to have a "rule" to list at least three. Specifically.  I can look at the blank sheet of paper, and think, "Yesterday was terrible; there is nothing to be grateful for."  But if I must list three, I can find them.