Preparing With Gratitude
Beloved Church -
I hope you're staying warm this blustery, snowy, beautiful winter day! This january, as we start a new year, finds me still adjusting and catching up a bit - we just took down our tree and Christmas decorations this week, we've got most of the wrapping supplies organized (finally) to store, and I am getting on top of my to do list for all that is up ahead (sort of.) This start of a new season seems a bit different, as if my spirit and body can tell that there is a lot of change and potential work up ahead, and its already preparing for the incoming burden. "We just finished holiday break," my mind reminds me, but it's still there, the sense that a lot could be coming toward us this year and that we will need to prepare.
A New Year can bring fresh wind, focus, and a new start - and it can also bring change, loss, burdens, and worry for what is to come. And we know that the upcoming change in our political landscape will have repercussions, potentially very weighty ones for those most marginalized among us. We've focused in our worship this Advent on the theme of Do Not Be Afraid - this well-rehearsed declaration of scripture that reminds God's people in all times and places, to not start with fear. To start with faith, hope, peace, joy, and love. I find myself going back to our messages, music, and reminders from this advent, and the reminder to follow the light that Epiphany brings us. This January I find myself praying against fear more often, and intentionally starting with faith, with light, with the good this new year.
I've been working to find glimpses of light and faith in commonplace, everyday places these past few weeks too, and it's helped me embody this hope. Belly laughter at the dinner table. A new book with a shiny cover and just the right topic at my door. Jon Batiste's new album reinterpreting Beethoven classics. Finding the soft socks I was hunting for to repel cold floorboards. Soup that turned out just right. A text from a friend that made me grin and feel so cared for. And I can feel myself relax, rest in gratitude of all this light, all this everyday beauty.
I am reminded this January that intentionally fighting off fear by looking for these spots of light, similar to choosing to look for and express what we're grateful for, can have a huge impact on our mental and emotional health. Studies have shown that a posture of gratitude can improve our mood, boost our immunity, help us have better sleep, and build stronger relationships. It is also linked to being one tool that can decrease depression, anxiety, and even chronic pain. When I ask our kids each night to find at least something to tell God we're thankful for, its ok that sometimes the answer is - "that I can go to bed soon and stop praying." 🙂 I also find some nights friends and family members are named, a warm home and recess games come up, a new hobby or creative project gets centered. And it seems to shift both of our postures, just a little, to remember the good and focus on the light, even as we know there is a lot of work to do ahead.
Beloved, we know that it will not help anyone to ignore or turn away from the real work that is coming ahead of us. We will indeed need to keep preparing, planning, praying over what God is inviting us to this coming year. And of course, sometimes much more support and systemic answers are needed in addition to being grateful or caring well for our mental health. Gratitude is not meant to placate or simplify. But I wonder if a posture of gratitude along with the other work, even noticing small everyday spots of light, might help prepare us for what is to come, for the work and burden that we may need to shoulder together. Noticing in community development terms, the "assets" that already exist in a space, instead of just the needs. In organization terms, maybe this is "strengths-based" leadership, instead of diagnosing where to grow and find gaps.
In whatever space you find yourself in this January, I pray that together we can reflect that light and remind one another to fight fear. I think it will benefit us all as we walk into the goodness, and challenges, that 2025 will no doubt contain.