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Mind-blowing Gratitude

 

The persistent noise from the leaf blower outside my window is enough to make one scream. On and on it drones every Tuesday morning, sweeping away the leaves, cleaning up the debris from fall's clutter. I have to remind myself that there is a person holding that blower and they work hard in the cold to make my life look better. I try to be grateful. Occasionally it pauses and I breath a sigh of welcome relief and then it starts again.  I know they will be gone shortly so I tolerate it. And when it finally subsides, the quiet is heavenly. My garden has been restored to a sanctuary of order and peace. Until next week.

I wish my mind and heart could be that easily restored - just a little "mind-blower" to sweep away all my uncertainty, busyness, and distraction, leaving only a peaceful mind, full of hope and gratitude. A recent devotional said to focus on the love poured out on the cross. I look up at a cross on the wall in my office and as the outside clatter subsides, my racing heart slows a bit as well, remembering that nothing can separate us from the love of God (Romans 8:38). 

 Not Covid, not politics, not disease or death, not grief, not strained relationships, not financial stress, not leaf blowers.

 I'll leave some blanks so you can fill in your own list___________, _________, ___________.

Sometimes it just helps me to name the issues and say with assured confidence, "Covid cannot separate us from the love of God. Politics cannot separate us from the love of God." You do it. A  pastor once told me to give your problems a name and then you can do something about them. For one thing, you can give them to God. This, according to Sarah Young in her book Jesus Calling, is a spiritual act of worship.  Keeping the focus on loved poured out from the cross enables us to be grateful.

And here we are at Thanksgiving week. A very different week for most of us.  Smaller tables set with fewer plates. Smaller turkeys. Fewer gatherings with many of them outside. Hopefully all of this reduction in activity will not lessen our feelings of gratitude for one another, our families, friends, and country. Quite possibly it will help us to be very grateful for all we have, and it is plenty. No unlike the Pilgrims, who 400 years ago arrived in a new country and found after their  first year, many of their family members had died from the hard work of survival, but even in their reduced numbers, they paused and remembered their God, and gave thanks for what they did have. And here we are today.

I challenge you this week to make an ongoing gratitude list and see if it helps to clear your mind of fret and worry.  And in the space freed up, prepare to discover joy has taken up residence.