Waking Up To Gratitude

I lie down and sleep; I wake again, for the Lord sustains me. Psalm 3:5

Peace to all of you who are in Christ. 1 Peter 5:14



"How are you?"

It's a question we ask quickly, as we are passing each other. We've come to use it as another form of "hello." Often, we aren't really expecting a significant response. The other person recognizes this and often just says "good" (even if they aren't feeling that good). We've learned to give quick responses that respect the social custom but don't actually answer the question.

But there is one quick response that I absolutely love...when I ask "How are you?" and the person responds with some version of "I'm just glad to be alive!" Most often, this response comes from some of the oldest people I know, and it takes many humorous forms:

"Well, I'm on the right side of the grass!"
"I'm sitting up and taking nourishment!"

There's a beautiful truth behind these words, as the people who say them are often at a point in their life in which the gift of waking up each morning is no longer a gift they take for granted. For one reason or another, they are more keenly aware of their mortality than the rest of us, and rather that letting that awareness bind them in fear, they use it as a reason to be deeply grateful.

I don't want to wait until I am older. I want to live with that awareness, sensitivity, and gratitude now.

The passages above nudge us in the right direction by drawing our attention to two stunning things that are incredibly easy to take for granted; the fact that we are awake, and the fact that we live in relative peace that frees us to busy ourselves with other things.

This morning, I am feeling deeply grateful for the miracles that have to happen every second for my body to live; for the millions of receptors in my eyes that allow me to see the screen on which I type this devotion; for the intricate and insanely complicated system of nerves and neurons that allow my brain to form the thoughts and my fingers to type them; for the incredibly strong muscle in my chest that beats at over 100,000 times per day. All of this miraculously happens without my notice, allowing me to function in a way that ignores how incredible it all really is.

Likewise, generations of people have fought, voted, toiled, and planned so that I enjoy a remarkable level of freedom and security. Now the question is, in my abundance of peace and life, can I live in a way that reflects the deep gratitude I feel for these unseen gifts?

Because I am just glad to be alive! To be on the right side of the grass! To be sitting up and taking nourishment! To be typing these words to you...!

May God open our eyes today to the incredible nature of life, breath, and peace...and continue filling us with all three so we may fight for others to enjoy the same.


PRAYER:
Prince of peace, whether waking or sleeping, we know that you are with us, sustaining us with your perfect peace.*

*Prayer taken from the Moravian Daily Texts