A Deeper Sense of Gratitude

 For the bewildering mystery of being alive / I am grateful!
For this amazing communion of saints that is / my body, how it all works—thank you!
    (Even when it is awkward, or ill: gratitude!)
For this stupendous planet, cornucopia of life, / teeming with beauty and strangeness,
    wrapping me in its flow of giving and receiving: thanks!
For the people who have helped shape me, / given me gifts, walked the road with me—
    even unknowing, even by accident—gratitude!
For what I can do, and the faith to do it, thank you!
For light (so splendid!) and sound (how wonderful!)  
for how gravity works no matter what (wow!), / for the sense of touch (and humor): thank you!
For music in the world and in my heart, gratitude!
For all my struggles (for if I am wrestling, I do so / with angels)—I am grateful.
For the lives of people I miss, dear ones even now / on the threshold of death, gratitude.
For the little green frogs in my yard, and / the great blue heron who wants to eat them: thank you!
For your absolutely consistent grace, your delight in it all,  
your love beyond imagining, I thank you!
I ask only for the gift of undying gratitude, / in all things—welcome or not, pleasant or hard—
   in all things, in every moment: gratitude. / Thank you, thank you, thank you.
—“Gratitude” by Steve Garnaas-Holmes

In what areas of your life do you experience the most gratitude? What about your family makes you grateful? What about your community makes you grateful? What about your church makes you grateful? 

It has been scientifically proven over and over again that noticing and expressing gratitude—even for the “smallest” things—lead to stronger relationships, better sleep, lower blood pressure, fewer trips to the doctor, fewer depressive symptoms, more patience, and more perseverance, among many other benefits.  
    
So, where might we start (or keep going) with the gratitude? Even when we face struggles or experience hardship, how might we focus on gratitude? How might we find ways to source our lives from the things that bring joy, wonder, delight? 

Matthew’s gospel reminds us that “For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.” And because one of our most precious treasures is our time, how might we give our time in ways that increase gratitude, generosity, and the well-being of our heart?
    
I hope these questions might guide us into this season of thanksgiving—and deepen our sense of gratitude for the blessings all around us.  

See you in church, Christy