My word for 2018
This year starts with a bone chilling cold. Maybe that is expected in some parts of the country but not in my neck of the woods on the Gulf Coast of Texas. As we Southerners realized that the weather forecast was about to materialize, we wrapped outdoor pipes and covered our delicate plants in a colorful variety of sheets, blankets, plastic garbage bags and even knitted afghans. Several days in a row with lows below freezing and wind chill temperatures in the teens…this is so not what we are used to. Next week, the temperatures will be back in the 60s…now that is more like it.
Outside the sky is gray to go along with the cold temperatures. So I have started off the year nesting indoors with a fire going all day and likely too many hours spent sitting in front of it either watching Hallmark movies or college football games on TV or at times reading a Sue Grafton alphabet mystery. Vafa, the tortoiseshell cat with a Farsi name meaning faithful, has been just that. She has been sitting right next to me curled up in a ball of fur soaking up the warmth of the fire. The calico, Persia joins us on the hearth from time to time but she has taken refuge in the confines of the pet carrier (no she doesn’t voluntarily go in there when it is time to travel….sigh).
So as a new year starts, the fire glows and the cats nap, I am pausing to assess my heart. Is it warm and inviting like the fire? Am I offering comfort to others whose lives are experiencing a chill or is that warmth just self-contained? Hmm…heavy thoughts on a dreary day.
If I am going to keep that fire burning in my heart and for it to be large enough to warm others as well, what do I need to do? Thoughts of the instructions from flight attendants keep coming to mind. I have heard the speech so many times, I feel like I could stand at the front of the plane and in my best telephone voice, recite the instructions…how to fasten and unfasten your seat belt, how your seat cushion can serve as a flotation device (really?) and the all-important part about the oxygen masks. The key message there is to ensure you put your own mask on first before assisting others. That really is the heart of the message….I can’t help my fellow passengers until I have ensured my oxygen mask is on. The same holds true for my fellow passengers in life…the fire in my heart needs to be lit before I can provide warmth to others.
It isn’t an oxygen mask I need now, so what is it? As a Christian I am called to give thanks IN all circumstances…the Lord doesn’t ask that I be thankful FOR all circumstances. And really, aren’t there always many blessings to be thankful for? Currently, a loved one is unexpectedly gravely ill and there is a lot of pain in my extended family. My heart hurts when people I love hurt. It can be challenging to be thankful in these circumstances. But if I stop for just a moment a flood of blessings come to mind….thankful for the medical personnel, thankful for the family caring for one another, thankful for the unknown prayer warriors’ earnest prayers, thankful for sweet memories of times spent together, thankful for faith….the faith that sustains us.
So GRATITUDE – that is my word for 2018. Like so many New Year’s resolutions, I tried gratitude before. I was inspired in 2015 after reading One Thousand Gifts by Ann Voskamp to start a gratitude journal on my birthday. That year I even bought additional copies of the book and journals and provided these gifts to several friends. I am inspired anew as I read my journal but sad to see that I haven’t paused to document any blessings in months. I tend to want to paint the entire picture rather than just put a dab of paint on the page so it is hard for me to just list blessings – I describe them and provide context. And that is fine – the important aspect is to be mindful of the blessings to remain grateful.
All around me every day are gifts the Lord has provided. In being more aware of these gifts, in naming and listing some of them may I develop an attitude of gratitude, a heart full of Thanksgiving and experience and share joy. Grateful New Year!
Will you pause with me to list or at least think about the blessings in your life?
Blessings,
Vicki
© Chateau Life Coach