Daily Gratitudes

Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly; teach and admonish one another in all wisdom; and with gratitude in your hearts sing psalms, hymns, and spiritual songs to God.     Colossians 3:16
I learned a few years ago that one of the most effective ways to get through a hard time in life, at least in my experience, is the practice of gratitude. This attitude was instilled in me at an early age, growing up on the mission field in Brazil, South America with my parents.

Back then, I thought of our gratitude journals as just another thing preacher’s kids had to do to stay out of trouble, along with taking notes on the sermon and sharing them over Sunday lunch. I know now, that my wise parents were preparing me to use gratitude as a practice in resilience for the hard times that we would face, as part of our human journey on this earth.

Lately, I’ve been leaning in to gratitude, and it’s been really helpful. I find that when I’m pausing in the business of life, leaning in to gratitude has indeed reminded me of the richness of Christ dwelling in my heart. I find that hymns and psalms, and spiritual songs come readily, as I focus in on what I’m thankful for. This is not to say that I walk through my days in a rosy glow and everything is fine.

Quite the opposite. A lot of  days I feel overwhelmed and stressed, deeply tired all the way to my bones. This is a manifestation of grief, and it is important to acknowledge the grief we are all carrying. Mine stems from losing a dear friend 2 weeks ago to a car crash, and being far away from my nieces and nephew. 

 In the meantime, in the pockets of light that emerge from the darkness that seems to press in around us as we watch the world continually try to tear itself apart, gratitude is a friend that waits to be invited to the table of our hearts for a steaming cup of coffee and a conversation about the little things that bring us joy:

sun streaming in through the open window as the birds sing their happy songs to God, delicious coffee in a favorite mug with a rare experience of a happy kitty curled up and purring her cares away, hymns that remind us that though all hell should endeavor to shake our souls, God will never forsake us.

​ Thanks be to God.