Should We Be Grateful for This Year?

by | Nov 21, 2017

It’s been a helluva year.

Powerful men in every walk of life, from politics to government to entertainment to journalism, have been accused of sexual assault. Even National Public Radio, that bastion of rationalism, has been hard hit. We have endured two more mass murders—one at a Las Vegas concert and one in the Sutherland Springs TX Baptist Church. Before that, multiple hurricanes battered the Gulf Coast and shattered communities. While Texas and Florida are making a decent recovery, much of Puerto Rico is still without power. Depressing displays of white supremacy made the headlines. And all this is just in the last 3 months or so. In the background of it all is the wearying stream of distracting tweets, bullying posts and head-scratching opinions coming from the White House.

Is this really a year to be grateful?

The answer is, surprisingly, yes. It’s not just that these difficulties often bring out the best in us. It’s this: cultivating an attitude of gratitude puts us in the legion of saints, and in the realm of the divine.

It’s easy to cultivate gratitude when things are going well. It’s a natural response to bounty and blessing. Yet, gratitude doesn’t require any extra muscle or intentionality when things are going well. However, gratitude is an exceptional response when life is bleak, when things aren’t going your way, and when you can’t quite imagine how good could come of a situation.

Still not convinced? Here are five God-sized reasons to be grateful:

  1. Gratitude makes us more like God. Being grateful when the chips are down forces us to seek out what is right in the world. It requires a great deal of intentionality which in turn builds the muscle of unconditional love. Here’s what I mean. God’s love for us does not falter when we make mistakes, upset others, or wreak havoc. It doesn’t even falter when we do evil. It’s unconditional—it doesn’t require a certain set of conditions to be activated. It’s simply and eternally constant. When we are able to practice gratitude in the midst of tough circumstances, we begin to enter into the realm of the divine.
  2. Gratitude honors free will. Free will is a signature dynamic of the universe. God doesn’t force any of us to do “right” or to do “good” or let God in to our lives. Neither can we force others to do our will, or to act according to the norms or beliefs we uphold. Practicing gratitude in the midst of annoyingly free will allows us to move into a higher flow of the universe.  It doesn’t mean we abandon our standards. It does mean that we honor the free will of others to do the same.
  3. Gratitude increases the light. Sure, it’s been a tough year for a lot of us in a lot of ways. But in each life impacted by loss, grief, evil, insensitivity or just plain stupidity—there were also transcendent moments and blissful blessings.   To focus only on the dark obliterates the light. The more we focus on what is lovely and good and beautiful, the more of it there is to focus on.
  4. Gratitude hands us the keys to the kingdom. When we cultivate an attitude of gratitude in the tough years, it reminds us of the constancy of the Kingdom of Heaven. It is still near. It is still at hand. It is still within. And the doors are still open. Each of us has the choice to cultivate a Kingdom consciousness, regardless of the circumstances around us.
  5. Worry weakens; gratitude strengthens. Constant worry and fear tear down our ability to be strong for the long haul. They weaken our ability to counteract injustice, and to stand for a better future. Gratitude, on the other hand, strengthens the immune system, clarifies the mind, and grounds the spirit.

It’s okay this year to revel in what is good in the world. It’s more than okay to dwell on the blessings you have received and made possible for others this year. In fact, it’s a necessity. The work of gratitude allows us to amplify the love in the world. Consider it the perfect counterbalance to the energy we’ll need in the coming months and years to speak up for justice, act with courage, speak up for the common good, and to envision a life-giving future.
 
 

December 31, 2013

by | Jan 7, 2013

Between tweeting, texting, phone calls, emails and blogging, it’s hard to get a thing done! If you’re like me, you can sit at your desk and simply respond to the next electronic thing that blinks, flashes, chirps or vibrates.  Staying busy while getting further and further behind.
It happens with the big things, too.  For many of my friends who pastor churches, death is taking up an increasing amount of time.  How does one ever plan for the future if it’s all about tying up loose ends from the past?  How do we birth a new kingdom if we are always attending to endings?
I took some time between Christmas and New Year, after two deaths in my own family, to turn it all off and tune in to my spirit and to the Divine nudge.  What does God want from me?  Where are my gifts calling me?  Where does the world’s deep need and my own gladness meet?
I spent several days dreaming, reflecting, writing.
Then I wrote a letter dated December 31, 2013.  Yes, 2013.  In the letter, I reflected on the year just passed.  I coded my dreams, along with the Spirit’s nudge, into words of gratitude and thankfulness for all that transpired. It was playful, intentional, and inspiring.  Then I read it aloud to my husband and my friend Lyna.  Now I have it in a place where I can review my dreams once a week.
Will I actually get to be on Talk of the Nation?  Or manage to meditate every morning?  No telling.  Will my new writing find publishers this year?  Will my giving exceed that of last year’s?  Who knows?  Will I grow all the vegetables I intend?   Or serve all the people I envision?  No telling on any of this.  Hey, I might be not even be alive by the end of the year.  (No, there’s nothing wrong with my health. It’s just that none of us really knows how much time we have.)
But I do know this:  the clearer the vision I have for the year, the more tuned in I am to the prompting of God, the steadier the course I can chart.  So when things begin blinking, flashing, chirping, and vibrating I can choose responsibly.  When  funerals begin to pile up and the needs of those I love collide, I know where to get back on course.
The world will invariably be sweeter, wilder, and more unpredictable than I can imagine.  But God is faithful.  And, like Paul, in my own way I intend “to press on toward the goal for the prize of the upward call of God in Christ Jesus.”  Phil 3:14
In fact, I’m looking forward to 2013.  And to reading that letter at year’s end.  Most of all, I’m looking forward to being of service, and building the Kingdom of God, in ways great and small!
What about you?