Easter Monday

50 Days of Gratitude

Thirteen years ago I started writing really brief reflections of gratitude during the Fifty Days of Easter. Each season, this practice grounds me in ways that neuroscience has shown to be beneficial to our whole being. I started sharing these reflections on social media as a sort of community building/accountability practice. For the past few years I’ve also shared them on my website and this year I am migrating them to Substack. The topics vary because what I am grateful for is varied. No doubt grief will weave its way into these ponderings, alongside the gratitude. I’ll probably miss a day or two along the way because life is complicated and curious and that’s okay. This isn’t an assignment or a project that requires perfection. It’s a practice of gratitude.

Today is Easter Monday, technically the second day in this Easter Season. If you observe Easter and weren’t able to worship in person, or if you’d like to hear some amazing music and catch a glimpse of my grandgirl walking her two year old self (she’s almost three!) up to Children’s Time in worship, I invite you to check out Gloria Dei’s YouTube channel. Our 11:00 Easter Sunday service is here. My sermon starts at about 23:15. The children’s sermon is toward the beginning of the video. This was the last of our three services yesterday, the exclamation point on a full slate of Holy Week liturgies.

Today, then, I am grateful for a day of rest. The church office is closed and the entire staff (and to be clear, it takes an entire staff to make Easter happen) is given the day for a time of rest and renewal.

I have exactly zero things planned today. No errands. No chores. It’s a beautiful morning and I slept until 8:00! Woo hoo! It’s supposed to be a warm day with temperatures flirting with the 70 degree mark. So, taking a walk is in the realm of possibility. So is sitting on my back porch with a book and a glass of iced tea. And maybe a nice long bath. And not thinking about work or worrying about the future, which means I probably won’t check the news either.

I acknowledge the privilege I have in this day, where I will be paid to re-fill body, mind, and spirit. I wish for all who need it, the time and space for renewal and rest.

And I am grateful.

This is the chancel area at Gloria Dei Lutheran Church in Olympia, WA, where I am delighted to serve as Lead Pastor.