Morning Glories
This week’s Note from Nancy is written by Leslie Eichhorn, a team member at NancyHicksLive.
Ah, November, the month of reflecting on what you are grateful for. Your Facebook friends are posting daily reasons they are #blessed. Wooden signs appear on front porches and on the walls of our homes with phrases like “thankful,” “blessed” and “grateful” among the autumn decor.
But what if you’re not overwhelmed with a sense of gratitude this season? Because frankly, I’m having a hard time being thankful this year.
I consider myself an optimist. I look on the bright side, my glass is half-full, I make lemons out of lemonade. But life has been HARD in 2021. Our family has lost several loved ones, all of them under the age of 40. I have two family members diagnosed with cancer. We are STILL in a pandemic. Our kids have entered their third school year with social distancing, masks and sanitizer galore. I’ve had more anxiety attacks this year than ever before.
I recently read a study from Harvard Medical School on gratitude:
Gratitude is a way for people to appreciate what they have instead of always reaching for something new in the hopes it will make them happier or thinking they can't feel satisfied until every physical and material need is met. Gratitude helps people refocus on what they have instead of what they lack. It has been difficult to focus on what I have, when what I have lost is so dear to me. The lack is distinctly painful.
One lesson I’ve learned from Nancy this year is that sorrow and joy can be experienced in equal measure. We have a God who gave us a Bible that not only tells us to rejoice always, but also to lament our sorrows. Look at Ecclesiastes 3:4 where we’re told there is “a time to weep and a time to laugh, a time to mourn and a time to dance.” The book of Psalms is replete with rejoicing and lamenting - sometimes within the same psalm!
I took my dog for a walk last weekend and almost stepped on a single, cobalt-blue Morning Glory. My grandfather, who passed away four years ago, nicknamed me “Morning Glory” because I would always smile at him when he got me out of my crib as a baby. I was filled with sorrow, desperately missing him, but also joy, remembering how much he loved me. I thanked God He led me down that particular path that afternoon.
I’ve started referring to these small, intimate moments that cause me to be thankful to God as “morning glories.”
If you’re struggling to feel #blessed this season, know you’re not alone. Look for those small, quiet mercies God provides. Weep and laugh, mourn and dance. Feel your joy and your sorrow together.
What small mercies has He shown to you in this season of your life? How are you living with joy and sorrow together? Let us know. We’d love to hear from you.