George preached last week about gratitude, and how it makes us more connected and connective; how it helps us live in the world more joyfully, presently, and fully; how it rewires our brain and lessens our pain; and how so much of our life is truly outside of our control and is a gift.  I've been thinking about that for the last several days. 

You all know I'm a SLSO stan[i], and I was thinking about George's sermon during our last choir rehearsal. There's a song we sing regularly, Robert Ray's "He Never Failed Me Yet", that moves me every time we sing it.  It starts with the lyrics,
I will sing of God's mercies.  Every day, every hour, he gives me power. 
This feels increasingly true to me.  Some days, everything is too much. I don't have the power to get through the day on my own, and God has to do some heavy lifting.  The song goes on,
I will sing and give thanks to thee, for all the dangers toils and snares that he has brought me out.
These lyrics bring to mind all the things I get myself into, or very nearly get myself into, all the things that could have been worse, but miraculously weren’t.  They remind me that I have so much to be grateful for.
A medieval manuscript illumination depicting the biblical story of Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego. In it, 3 people in Greco-Roman clothing stand in the middle of a furnace while being watched over by an angel.I won’t continue to break the song down line by line, but at one point the soloist sings,
Didn’t my God deliver Moses from King Pharoah?  And didn’t he cool the fiery furnace for Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego?  When I think of what my God can do, he delivered Daniel, I know he will deliver you.

Do you remember God’s deliverance in your own life?  Do you remember the relief and joy?  Do you remember the gratitude you felt?  It could almost seem trite to say to somebody “I know God will deliver you” (and, of course, we would be careful to encourage instead of being dismissive), and yet, we also know it’s true.  We have experienced it. God is a deliverer. Whether by sitting with us in the middle of the mess and delivering us from hopelessness and abandonment, or by carrying us out of the mess, God is a deliverer.

This is one of my favorite songs we sing because it causes me to pause and remember all that I have to be grateful for. My life—all our lives—are incredibly blessed. We have so much to be grateful for. So I offer these reflections to you in the hope that they jumpstart or enrich your practice of gratitude this week.  I also have a video clip of us singing the song for you to enjoy.  I hope it blesses you the way it blesses me every time we sing it, and that it helps loosen the “Velcro” on the negative stuff that so easily accumulates in our minds and hearts, making space for you to notice and experience gratitude every single day.

Peace to you,

Pastor Maggie
[i] “Stan” is a slang word—a portmanteau of “stalker” and “fan”.  Basically, it means I’m really into the symphony.