Slow gratitude for when your feet hurt

It’s the day after Groundhog Day, and forty days since Christmas. Does it seem longer than that? January was a tough month for many of us.

The Christmas song that comes to mind is a couplet from It Came Upon a Midnight Clear:

Who toil along the climbing way
With painful steps and slow

What a slog it’s been and continues to be. A slow slog uphill and your feet hurt.

What are you grateful for? Do you have difficulty feeling grateful? That seems normal. The lyricist doesn’t tell us to tough it out or march onwards regardless of our pain. He suggests hitting pause.

The lyrics continue:

O rest beside the weary road
And hear the angels sing

In other words, take a break! You’re not getting much done anyhow, with a foggy brain and fatigue. What would resting beside the weary road look like for you?

For me, this means going for a walk - my weary road is sitting in front of the computer! I hear the angel choirs better when I can get outside. Small children pointing out squirrels, dogs prancing in the snow and birds singing songs of spring lift my spirits.

I wonder if gratitude requires listening for God’s whispers of hope and listening means slowing down. Slow gratitude. Could a time of silent reflection in worship, individual or congregational, help us hear the angelic choir?

God has not given up on us, weary pilgrim. Forty days since Christmas and the angels are still singing. I pray that we can rest and listen to their song of praise.