This has been a good weekend, today a good day. I woke with an agenda this morning; there were things on the top of my to-do list and while I didn’t accomplish everything on it, I got a few really important things done. The upcoming work week will be shortened by the Thanksgiving holiday, but I have planned out some pretty ambitious work for the three days I will be on the job. I had hoped to get some work done on those things this afternoon, but I was preoccupied with my home/personal to-do list and couldn’t get any traction with the project. And now I’m too sleepy to do it. This puts me in mind of the prayer I frequently recite before I go to sleep. I’ve shared it here in this blog before, but as anyone who’s read this blog regularly knows, I have a few favorite things that I bring back periodically as the spirit moves me. I offer once again as I think through the accomplishments of this particular day.
God. It is night. The night is for stillness.Let us be still in the presence of God. It is night after a long day. What has been done has been done; What has not been done has not been done. Let it be. The night is dark. Let our fears of the darkness of the world and of our own lives rest in you. The night is quiet. Let the quietness of your peace enfold us, all dear to us, and all who have no peace. The night heralds the dawn. Let us look expectantly to a new day, new joys, new possibilities. In your name we pray, Amen. New Zealand Prayer Book, 1989
I am grateful for the permission offered by this prayer to not obsess over what I didn’t get done today. Too often I lament what I haven’t gotten done over the weekend. But the weekend is also a time for exhaling and unwinding from the week. And I’ve certainly needed a bit of that over the past few weeks. Let it be, the prayer encourages. And so I am letting it be.
Tonight I am grateful for simple friends. For the love of friends and family, with whom I’ve spent time either on the phone or in person this weekend. I’m grateful for hot food, warm clothes, a safe place to live, and so many blessings that we in this first world nation so often take for granted. I live in a country that is at peace within itself and with its neighboring countries, and I go to sleep unaffected by the perils of war. I am fortunate to be relatively able-bodied and having full use of my limbs, my senses, my mental faculties. I am truly blessed indeed.
I have few words this evening and so will sign off. I try my best not to be too hard on myself when my muse is on vacation and I have less deeply significant thoughts to share in this blog. Sometimes I just don’t have it in me. But, as Scarlett O’Hara so brilliantly suggested, “Tomorrow is another day.” And so it is. I’ll look forward to seeing you back here and sharing a few thoughts on gratitude as we approach the big day that celebrates gratitude across the nation. Until then, keep your eyes open. You’ll see things to be grateful for all around you. Try it.
