The link for this week's live-streamed service is here.
At this time of transition from the old year to the new there are many tasks to undertake. Time to clean out the business files from 2023 and start a new set for 2024. Time to clean up the Christmas decorations and put away the Christmas presents. Time to look at the budget -- your own, your business', or the church's.
It's also a time to review the last twelve months and consider what we've learned. The media is full of such reviews, some are fun, some are disquieting. One survey I saw asked Canadians to rate their "happiness scale." Given the amount of angst on the nightly news, it came as a pleasant surprise to find that 70% of Canadians considered themselves very happy or pretty happy. (Angus Reid Poll)
Another newscast reported on Canadians "word for the year." Again, a surprising 37% chose "grateful." Another 37% responded with "exhausting." I guess it depends on whether you are a glass-half-full or a glass-half-empty sort of person, which word more closely sums up your year.
When I consider the violence, hunger, anger, and need that exists in these days of transition, I am tempted to choose "overwhelming" as my word. But then, my friend gave me a devotional book for Christmas. It is titled 100 Days of Grace and Gratitude. Day one begins with the statement "Today is a brand-new day that God has made just for you. It's a day that's bright and fresh, ready and waiting for new beginnings to unfold." It reminds of the line in Anne of Green Gables when Anne exclaims, "tomorrow is a new day with no mistakes in it yet."
Day 100 of my Christmas gift reads "Gratitude and grace -- two key ingredients for a tranquil life of godliness and dignity."
All of these references to gratitude suggest that God is urging me to eschew the "exhausting" or "overwhelmed" camp and stay rooted in the "gratitude" brigade.
That is only a question of focus. I am surrounded by family and friends who enrich my life. The CBC is running clips for "Kindness -- it's a Canadian Thing." I am part of a caring community at SPPC that bring laughter and purpose to life. Everyday I'm filled with wonder and joy in God's creation. Have you seen the sunrises these past few weeks? They are amazing.
One of my favourite passages for January 1 is "The Gate of the Year." King George VI reference it in his Christmas address to the nation in 1939 when Britain faced the dark days of World War II.
. . . I said to the man who stood at the gate of the year: “Give me a light that I may tread safely into the unknown.”
And he replied:
“Go out into the darkness and put your hand into the Hand of God. That shall be to you better than light and safer than a known way.”
It is Christmas -- God has sent His Son, Emmanuel, the greatest gift of all. Let us put our trust in Him, and go forth into 2024 with a mind to gratitude.
A very refreshing and encouraging blog, thank you Alice and a very Happy New Year to you,
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