Medicine, Blah Blah Blah, for the Soul
/So today, what are you grateful for?
You knew the inevitable cliché holiday question was coming, didn't you? Maybe you've heard it so much in your life that it is just lumped up in your blah, blah, blah folder. That's what I call it. The place where the excess and completely over saturated permanently lie..."20 people died today in a car bombing" "just pray about it" "tragic situation, they are in a state of emergency" "pay the bills" "deadline" "you hurt my feelings" "mom murders her kids today" "earthquake, thousands dead" "purpose driven grace filled blessed life" "it's going to be ok" “do I look fat” "Wal Mart is your home for the holidays" “busy” "holy is the Lord" "thankful" "blessed"...
blah, blah, blah
It's too much. We hear the same things, the same madness, the same lines about God, even the same worship, the same stories of chaos, marketing, want, desires, bills, family, business, destruction, we hear it all so often that we are actually pretty numb to it. It goes in one ear and out the other into our automatic, perpetually updated blah, blah, blah folder. It is just white noise.
So as Thanksgiving approaches and people (by people I mean ministers, Oprah, Ellen, your favorite Chick magazine, and maybe Charles Gibson or something) start prodding you to write a list of the things you are thankful for, will you do so, or will it go into the white noise section of your brain?
I encourage you to do so, to be grateful. To write the list. Or the card. Or the letter to God. And to begin today. Use the next few weeks as a designated time to intentionally find quiet moments away from the world where you sit and reflect on the things you are truly grateful for. Be reminded, be grateful, be humbled, and as you do so, be filled with the joy and peace that comes with resting in the fact that you have much to be thankful for.
STOP. Don't just read another one of Jenny's cute blogs and go back to work. Stop for one minute, yes you, right now and begin the journey...
Today, what are you grateful for? What thing is in your life that you could not live without? Why does it mean so much to you? When is the last time, if it is a person, that you have told that person in a meaningful and intentional way how much they add to your life? When is the last time you have gone before God and given him a simple and heartfelt thank you? If you get very quiet and very still, in those moments, what brings you joy, what do you cherish?
Slow down. Think. Rest. Identify what you are truly grateful for. Dwell on it. Experience it, the feeling and state of being grateful. Act upon it. Repeat.
And then let us know if you want. What are you thankful for this year? It is worth your time, it is medicine for the soul.