Today’s Word from Pastor Jim…
“I lift up my eyes to the hills, from where is my help to come? My help comes from the Lord, the maker of heaven and earth.”
Psalm 121
Sometimes, when catching up with an old friend, or sitting down with a coworker, the first question is, “Where do you want to start?” The start of such conversations is important. There is so much to cover. There are so many words to be said, thoughts and stories to be shared. The conversation, like life, will be fraught with segues, detours, distractions, and interruptions. Phones vibrate, waiters need your order, children pull on your sleeve, your mind reminds you to pick up the dry cleaning. It is pretty easy to lose track of details.
Where do you want to start? It is an important question. Where you start will set the tone for the entire conversation. If there is a critical conversation point, it is probably best to address it early on, or it may be lost in the circuitous nature of human interaction.
Where do you want to start? I want to encourage you to ask yourself that question every morning, every night before resting your head on your pillow, every time you share a meal or say your prayers. Where you start matters.
I had the opportunity to share a meal with a couple in our parish this past week. 2021 had not been particularly kind to them. Compromised health has permanently changed the trajectory of their lives. Their shared life would never be the same.
We ordered our lunch and set out to catch up; after all, I had not talked to them since returning from Sabbatical. “Where should we start?” I asked. The response was immediate and heartwarming, “We choose to start with gratitude.” They continued to express their thanks for all that they had, for the many years of good health, for far-flung adventures and the gift of living life on Whidbey Island. “We choose to start with gratitude.” What a beautiful choice, a lifegiving choice, an appropriate choice for people who have experienced blessings and opportunities unheard of in previous generations, unimaginable to most of the world.
“We choose to start with gratitude.” To be honest, these are the kind of people I want to spend time with. I felt better after breaking bread with them; my own pandemic attitude had been adjusted. I am thinking that if we would choose to start with gratitude, that we would be more healthy, less stressed, more optimistic, and more fun to be around. There is plenty of bad news to go around; our bodies are aging, life throws curve balls to everyone, but if we open our eyes, we will be greeted each day with an amazing array of blessings.
We choose to start with gratitude. Let’s make it a habit of starting there.
One day closer,
Pastor Jim
