I awoke this morning, snuggled down in my covers, sunlight filtering through the slats of the window blinds after a day and night of heavy rain, just filled with gratitude that having grown this old, I have the luxury to sleep in or just stay in my nice warm bed thinking happy grateful thoughts. While lying there I heard the train whistle in the distance reminding me of a friend who died earlier this year. How he loved to watch for the train as it passed behind his nursing home room window twice a day. The older I get, the more I am finding so much joy in just being alive, still able to read, hear, walk, (with the aid of a cane or rollator) , feed myself, and still be relatively independent.
Yesterday our pastor used those wonderful verses from Philippians 4 as her text. Whenever I hear them or read them, I am reminded that Paul wrote them from prison while awaiting his execution. Even so, they are filled with such joy and optimism. “May you always be joyful in your union with the Lord. I say it again, ‘Rejoice.’ Show a gentle attitude toward everyone. The Lord is coming soon. Don’t worry about anything, but in all your prayers ask God for what you need with a thankful heart. And God’s peace, which is far beyond our human understanding, will keep your hearts and minds safe in union with Christ Jesus. In addition, my brothers and sisters fill your minds with those things that are good and deserve praise: things that are true, right, noble, pure, lovely and honorable. “ Paul concludes that passage by saying. “Put into practice what you have learned and received from me, both from my words and actions, and the God who gives us peace will be with you.”
For a long time I have thought Paul was a bit conceited to ask the members of the Philippian church to use him as an example, but as I’ve aged I have come to see the importance of role models whom we can emulate. Being around someone who tends to be upbeat is heartening, especially when so much seems distressing. Staying positive, hopeful and grateful can be difficult when it feels as if the rug is being pulled out from under our feet, but the fact that he writes these words from prison is a reminder that there is no situation in life in which we cannot or should not practice gratitude. There is nothing so bad that we can’t find something for which to be grateful, be it a glass of water, a dewdrop on a leaf or petal, a warm sweater, a cup of soup, or a roof over our heads. There is so much we simply take for granted and don’t see as something for which we should be grateful.
Years ago, I preached a sermon on gratitude and urged the congregation to keep gratitude journals. One of the participants came to me later and said that he was having trouble writing anything in his journal because nothing big and important had happened in his life. “But, that’s not the point, “ I said. “Gratitude is all about the little things in life. When we can learn to be grateful for them, gratitude for the big things and the scary things just fall into place.”
Sometimes I wonder why I keep writing about gratitude as there are so many other important things to focus on, but then I think, following Paul’s suggestion that his followers use him as an example is necessary if we are to be able to hold up the light of hope and love to ourselves and others. When we focus on gratitude, those things that are good, true, right, noble, pure, lovely, and honorable simply fall into place, however small or seemingly insignificant. And the God who gives us peace, whatever one’s concept of a Higher Power is, will be with us.