When it comes to life, the critical thing is whether you take things for granted or take them with gratitude.
--Gilbert K. Chesterson
I woke up this morning a bit out of sorts. My floors needed swept and mopped. The carpets needed vacuumed. Laundry needed done. Am I the only one who can do the work around here?
We missed Ash Wednesday services last night. We got the time wrong, and nowhere could I find the correct time. It's not the end of the world, or even a minor tragedy-- just a disappointment.
Still, I am cranky. I just put another load in the laundry and have a few, brief hours alone before family returns and clutters my solitude.
I turned to my quiet time of meditation, hoping to find solace and the feelings of Lent, whatever those may be. I read the words of my devotions then ranted, "Why is it, God, I must find you? You are God. Find me. I'm just human." I was met with a silence I don't know how to interpret.
Sometimes I find myself wondering if, like many believe, I am conjuring a God to suit my need. I can point to nothing, like science, to prove He exists. I can't do an experiment and show my hypothesis to be fact. But ultimately, my heart can't reject what has been instilled in it for so long. It may not make "sense", but it is my decision to accept mystery as truth.
Feelings, like inspiration, are dodgy and deceptive, aren't they? They come and go, fluttering just out of reach. Sometimes we grasp them, and they are dear and feel so real. But mostly they taunt us. Are our beliefs so fragile they hang on fleeting emotions?
When I am stuck in this cycle, it is best that I do. What I mean is, it is good for me to get out of my head. Move beyond my self. Do chores. Go for a walk or jog. Call someone who needs cheering up. Write a note to someone I haven't spoke to in awhile. Do. Or perhaps I need a good slap in the conscience: read an article about any place in the world where misfortune and misery are grounded in the sad facts of daily life and haunting uncertainty, not my conjured disappointments with life.
Then I come full circle, quiet my heart, and find a place of gratitude for all that I have- which is, in the perspective of the world-- abundant beyond comprehension. This doesn't take beliefs or faith or religion. It is a fact I can point to with confidence.
During this lent season, I will remember gratitude.
Thank you - I needed to read that today. I love your last sentence and wish I had said something of that nature when explaining Lent to my children last night.
ReplyDeleteHi Anne, thank you. I needed to remember this today. I did get out for my jog and my grumpies are much better! ;)
DeleteI echo Anne. The way my feelings were this morning and late last night, I knew I would find some peace if I could just get out of my head for a little bit. Thank you for the gentle reminder to step beyond myself, not just in my head, but all thoughts of me, and remember to be grateful. :)
DeleteBoy, that was me this morning Anne. Doing some work around the house (with vigor, I might add) and getting out for a jog helped a lot. Spring is trying to make an appearance here.
DeleteAs a woman of faith, when I have those doubts or frustrations I have to recognize where those doubts are coming from. God is right there next to us with open arms waiting for us to come unto Him and recognize Him. I think it you are right, that it is in the doing that we find Him and our expressions of gratitude, as well.
ReplyDeleteWell said, Lisa. Thanks for this.
DeleteAs you know, I've been overwhelmed recently with...no other way to say it...life. And it's so very easy to get into me, me, me and how things are not going well for me, me, me. All about me. And during this time, I am reminded by the Master washing his disciples feet. Out of self and serving others: that's the way.
ReplyDeleteGreat series you have going here, Julie. :)
M.L. Swift, Writer
Thanks Mike, and boy, as you well know, can I relate on my own level. Every now and again I feel like a turtle suffocating in my own shell and have to look outside.
DeleteHI Julie Well said. Good day
DeleteI've hit a bit of a frustrating stretch too. So I appreciate this reminder about gratitude. I've been blessed with much in so many ways. Thank you for helping my perspective shift! :)
ReplyDeleteOh Karen, it's so hard when there are legitimate things flying at us, isn't it? I mean stuff on my plate, on Mike's plate (the commenter above), it's real and it hurts, and yet, I can always find ways to be grateful in the midst of it. But it's not always easy.
DeleteI missed Ash Wednesday services, too. No car. Isn't it nice that God gives us so many other ways and places to connect with Him?
ReplyDeleteIt sure is. It was to be my first one, so I was a little pouty, but not for long. :)
Deletewell said girl, keep the faith and have no regrets. keep serene!
ReplyDeleteSerene is good.. until the next thing ruffles my feathers. Then I start all over!
DeleteIt is with gratitude that I feel comfortable in calling you friend - and thank you for all the spiritual guidance you've sent my way in the last two years :)
ReplyDeleteLike we say in our church, "God is good all the time - and all the time, God is good" :)
Mark, I'm inspired by you, your writing and your spirit. Thank you. (Good saying your church has. My husband used to say that a lot right before he dismissed the congregation.)
DeleteGratitude is one important thing to keep in mind. Like you, I sometimes need to see things in perspective to remember Inshould be grateful. I play hide and seek with God but He always find me. This is of course a good God for dragons. He suits me and I suit Him. Kind of relieving.
ReplyDeletePerspective. How easily I lose it! How much I need it. :)
DeleteHi Julie. I have a book on my Kindle that I go back and read from time to time: "Lifesigns, Tapping the Power of Synchronicity, Serendipity and Miracles" by Alex Marcoux. You might enjoy it. It made me more aware of the power of gratitude and why I should be grateful.
ReplyDeleteI actually bought this once, based on your recommendation. It was a little off my belief path for me, but it had some good thoughts. :)
DeleteSo, THE GOD BOX was of no help to you--huh?
ReplyDeleteThank you, Julie. Sometimes those moments when we feel so far away from gratitude and so far from God, we are just a moment away, just a page turn, or a blink . . . or a few chores or a walk. It all depends. Thanks for sharing your journey.
ReplyDelete