Gratitude’s Lens

Long days and short nights have become the norm recently. I think of Buckminster Fuller (discoverer/inventer of the geodesic dome) and Martha Stewart at such times. I read that they attributed their great productivity to sleeping no more than 4 hours a night.

I attribute my stamina to gratitude. Sunday morning, 4 hours before I needed to leave for the airport, I put my head on my pillow and thought how grateful I was for large and small gifts of grace from our dear Father-Mother, God.

For dear Tim who’s letting me go to Boston for 5 weeks to attend a Christian Science Nursing Arts course at the Chestnut Hill Benevolent Association;

for the folks at the CHBA who are allowing me to join the class;

for Peace Haven’s Christian Science nurses who day in and day out tenderly care for the individual needs of our patients with inspiration, camaraderie and joy;

for Toni and Barry who will fill in for me while I’m away with wisdom and wit;

for Suzan and the board for supporting Peace Haven’s training partnership with Nursing Arts;

for Jack in Tanzania who couldn’t make his dad or me happier;

for my soft pillow;

for my alarm app on my phone . . .

I’ve kept up my gratitude through some choppy waters. Lost my drivers license and credit card somewhere at Logan Airport. Prayed and retraced steps, called the cab company, emptied my purse for the umpteenth time. I was praying and affirming the presence and onliness of good. But I will admit to some humiliating tears at the TSA desk as I explained my predicament — no picture i.d. Then this unexpected grace: to a man and woman, the guards were only comforting and quietly reassuring.

I must not fit their profile. Which got me thinking about identity. Mine couldn’t be taken from me. Nor could man’s inherent innocence be taken from him. More on that perhaps in another blog.

I loved discovering in “The Lens of Gratitude” by L. Ivimy Gwalter: “The presence of gratitude in our hearts is the reflection of Love. . . it dispels fear; it dissipates discouragement. . . Gratitude is as natural and unlabored as the fragrance of the flower.”

And speaking of unlabored, I loved this translation of the 23rd Psalm in Japanese Bible that Marjorie Dagnall shared with us in her talk on Tuesday morning (I thought of you, dear Chrstian Science nurses!):

The Lord is my Pace-setter, I shall not rush;
He makes me stop and rest for quiet intervals,
He provides me with images of stillness, which restore my serenity,
He leads me in the ways of efficiency through calmness of mind,
And His guidance is peace.

Even though I have a great many things to accomplish each day,
I will not fret, for His presence is here,
His timelessness, His all-importance, will keep me in balance,
He prepares refreshment and renewal in the midst of my activity,
By anointing my mind with His oils of tranquility.

My cup of joyous energy overflows,
Surely harmony and effectiveness shall be the fruits of my hours,
For I shall walk in the pace of my Lord and dwell in His house for ever.

With love and joy, M