Gratitude

"Gratitude unlocks the fullness of life. It turns what we have into enough, and more. It turns denial into acceptance, chaos to order, confusion to clarity. It can turn a meal into a feast, a house into a home, a stranger into a friend. Gratitude makes sense of our past, brings peace for today, and creates a vision for tomorrow.”- Melody Beattie

 

The past few days I’ve been reading and reflecting on our senses. I think we all have wondered what it would be like to lose our hearing or sight, but usually it’s in passing. We truly don’t know what we’ve got ‘til it’s gone. But what if we lived appreciating everything we have, everyday, every moment?

Have you ever noticed how happy most disabled or terminally ill children can be? I really believe they know what it is to be happy because they don’t take for granted what abilities they do have. Why is it so hard for us healthy people to appreciate our health and wellness? I don’t have the answer to this, but I do know the happiness I feel when I take some time to write a list of things I’m thankful for. It’s almost like magic sometimes, it’s the magical feeling I would think these sick and unfortunate children have everyday.

The challenge is to take one sense everyday to focus on. For instance, take your sense of smell. Notice and enjoy the smell of the spring breeze, the smell of your pets’ fur, every morsel of your food, the aromas from hot beverages, and the unique scent of everyone you come close to everyday. When you notice each scent, don’t just enjoy it, say a prayer to God about how grateful you are for that smell. I think if we really appreciated a sense a day we would be happier and more in touch with everything that God gives. Taking time to “smell the roses” can be taken up a notch to taking time to pray for the roses, saying thanks to God that he gave us the amazing abilities of senses to really enjoy his creation. We have everything we need in ourselves to really appreciate life and live it to the fullest. Let’s be more grateful, it can only lead to good things!

Stormy Weather

“I learned that the opposite of faith is not doubt, but fear.” – Philip Yancey

 

I can’t help but think about how the passage I read this morning was completely appropriate for me today. Lately, I’ve been going through some stormy emotional moments and days, dealing with being alone, some personal issues, and just being utterly exhausted from everything. It doesn’t help that on my lowest of days it tends to be raining, right? I think it’s funny that this time of my life kinda matches the weather. You know we all have good shining days where it’s the perfect temperature, the wind is blowing just the right amount of air our way, and it seems like nature is at it’s most beautiful. Then, comes the typical April showers or thunderstorms. We know that the earth needs this water to replenish and help the beauties of creation grown more wonderful and appealing to the eyes, but sometimes it just causes big inconveniences. Just like me I have had some sunny, happy days amongst all the hard times I’ve been through the past couple months, beautifully peaceful and calming moments. However, lately I’ve been having some dreary, rainy eye days. I know in the same way I need to go through these days of rain to replenish my soul because in these days I too grow more beautiful. Yet, it’s hard to see through the eye of the storm, it can be quite frightening.

So this morning I read about the time when Jesus was out boating with his disciples. Meanwhile, a big ferocious storm came. Jesus slept through it! However, the disciples panicked because they were afraid and woke Jesus up.

 “[Jesus] replied, “You of little faith, why are you so afraid?” Then he got up and rebuked the winds and the waves, and it was completely calm.” Matthew 8:26. (my favorite number is 8 and I’m 26 years old, ironic huh?)

Wow! First of all, Jesus was sleeping. Isn’t that how it feels sometimes when we are going through hard times? Is God just sleeping and when will he wake up and help us?  Second, he is powerful and can easily calm our storms. Third, he calls the disciples out on the fact that they had little faith and lots of fear. Truly, I see now that the opposite of faith is not doubt, it really is fear. How often do I live in fear and not by anchoring my faith in the peaceful waters of hope and mercy? It’s normal to have doubts that things might not work out the way we expect but to fear the worst is such a nasty attack on God. He only wants the best for us and what happens might not be what we see as best in our finite nature.

How different would the story have went if the disciples just cuddled up and fell asleep next to Jesus in the midst of the storm? What if during my cold stormy, rainy eyed days, when I’m missing companionship and warmth, I hold tight to the tranquil Jesus? Wouldn’t I find the best example of how to weather the storms of life if I curled up and fell asleep praying for the rains of God’s mercy and timing to wash me clean? I would be able to find comfort in the words I read today from Ann Cetas, “We can find moments of peace when we’re anchored to the truth that He’s in the boat with us and He cares.” 

A Stitch In Time

“To live in the past and future is easy. To live in the present is like threading a needle.”

 –Walker Percy

 

It is a beautiful day out today, full of sunshine and the perfect temperature. It’s a day off for me with nothing I have to do but rest, and yet I find it hard to do so. It’s frustrating that I can’t just chill. I’ve been putzing around the apartment trying to straighten up here and there, going to the gym, going food shopping for the week, and just hurriedly doing NOTHING of importance. Even as I sit here on my balcony typing I wonder am I just doing this to keep myself busy?  I’ve been praying for a day to just have nothing to do and here it is. I don’t know what to do with myself. By now most of the day is gone and I haven’t really gotten to relax much. 

I’ve been going about my days much like a squirrel. Most of the time when you observe a squirrel, it is running around keeping itself busy. It is usually darting across streets, jumping from tree limb to tree limb, looking for hidden treasures in the ground or in the dumpster, or just sitting flicking its tail looking for the next place to leap to. I feel like a squirrel lately. But God wanted to show me something today, a squirrel at rest. I was standing out on my balcony enjoying the fresh air and I noticed a squirrel lying lazily and cozy on a tree branch. I was simply amazed at such a silly little thing. I thought to myself I don’t think I have ever seen a squirrel sitting still like that, unless it was roadkill. God is calling me constantly to just sit amongst his creation and rest because I need it and deserve it. To be like this squirrel so naturally cuddled up against God’s creation enjoying the nice weather like the rest of us, really treasuring the peace that it can bring to your soul.

For just this moment, I was more peaceful and much more attentive to the present rhythm of nature then I have been in a long while. I desire so much to be on a more stable and calming frequency. We breathe without thinking, but it’s so relaxing to intentionally breathe deep and slowly. I need to learn a lesson from the vibrant creation that is popping up around me. I need to learn it’s a time for renewal, for youth, for beauty, for refreshing peace, a time for healthiness, a time to breathe deep even though I have things to do and things to work on. I need to live with a peaceful, steady and calmly disciplined heart. It is so easy to think about all the past memories, wishing for those better times or becoming saddened by unfruitful moments or relationships. It’s so easy to linger on what the future might bring me even if it is minutes away. As calmly as I knit or crochet, with nothing else I can do but slow down and intentionally make something creative and useful, I want to intentionally pay attention to the present moment I’m threading myself through. It’s hard, very hard, to stay in a pinpointed moment but I really need to pay attention to the little things and moments. God isn’t asking me to try to see the whole blanket or scarf of my life; he’s just asking me to keep threading myself through the small little windows of time. I know the creation will be beautiful because God doesn’t make crap. So I just need to quietly consume myself with the peaceful moments of NOW by pretending that in every little thing that I do I am only meant to do that for the moment. My hands should be tangled up in the NOW and not busy doing a million things at once. I need to start NOW, intentionally being present and peaceful. (sigh)