Thanksgiving

Every night before I go to sleep / I say out loud / Three things that I’m grateful for,

All the significant, insignificant / Extraordinary, ordinary stuff of my life.


It’s a small practice and humble, / And yet, I find I sleep better
 

Holding what lightens and softens my life / Ever so briefly at the end of the day.


Sunlight, and blueberries, / Good dogs and wool socks,


A fine rain, / A good friend, / Fresh basil and wild phlox,


My father’s good health, / My daughter’s new job,


The song that always makes me cry, / Always at the same part,


No matter how many times I hear it.


Decent coffee at the airport, / And your quiet breathing,


The stories you told me, / The frost patterns on the windows,


English horns and banjos, / Wood Thrush and June bugs,


The smooth glassy calm of the morning pond,


An old coat, / A new poem, / My library card,


And that my car keeps running / Despite all the miles.


And after three things, / More often than not,


I get on a roll and I just keep on going, / I keep naming and listing,

Until I lie grinning, / Blankets pulled up to my chin,


Awash with wonder / At the sweetness of it all.
    —“Three Gratitudes” by Carrie Newcomer

What are some of the things that make you grateful? What are some of those things that deeply comfort your spirit and make your soul sing? What are some of the things that you long for? Things that inspire an involuntary deep breath—that allow you to release your shoulders down away from your ears—that unfurl your brow—that open your heart for more?
    
As we enter into the holiday season, it is way too easy to get lost in to-do lists and to feel inadequate up against the building tasks and expectations. I invite you to consciously bring more gentleness with you into this season. I invite you to carry with you in your heart (or tangibly written on list in your pocket!) some of those things that bring you gratitude. Your list can stay the same or change daily. This practice will help you cultivate hope and mindfulness about what is really important to you—and what may not deserve the energy you give it. Source your living from the blessings that surround you. Notice them. Hold them in your mind’s eye like a smooth stone that fits perfectly in your palm. It is from this place of gratitude that we can best show up for one anther and show God’s love to a hurting world. I look forward to hearing about some of those things that make you grateful!

See you in church,
Christy