When I started this blog I intended to add an entry every other week at a minimum.  Obviously that hasn’t panned out over the long run.  It’s been almost two months this time, and that is not even the longest I have gone between posts.  There are a lot of reasons for this.  Life happens.  Things get in the way.  Out of sight, out of mind (i.e. I’m not thinking about it).  Wasting time on Facebook.  Reading a book.  Just give me a few minutes.  I’m sure I can think of more reasons…er, excuses.

Part of the delay this time is that we are in the middle of Lent and there are a bunch of extra activities for church that I put upon myself – activities that are not expected or required by anyone in the church I serve.  Part of it is that I had surgery – a minor one, but surgery – and it wiped out my stamina and my want to.  A lot of it is captured in the title of my blog page.  I really don’t feel like I have anything to say.  Nothing important.  Nothing even mildly entertaining.  Just nothing.  I think that by the time I get Sunday’s sermon prepared, all my creativity is gone.  I have nothing left to elaborate on here.

That said, I have been hanging on to an article a friend and colleague published in Hemophilia News Today at the beginning of 2023 because I thought he had some really good things to say.  I planned at that time to share some of them in my blog.  I just never took the time to get around to it.  Last night I attended a Zoom meeting with my Bishop and a few hundred other people.  Bishop’s message reminded me of the article that has been lying on my desk for almost four months.  It is way past time to put my words to page.  So, here we go.

If you are like me, you are really good at noticing the things that don’t go the way we want them to.  Am I right?  It is so much easier to remember that I encountered three different traffic backups due to three different accidents on the interstate as I travelled the 110 miles from where I was to home last week than it is to recall the 30 or so times I have made the trip in the last nine months when everything was smooth sailing.  I know every little fire that I have had to put out at work, every time I messed up a recipe or burned the biscuits I had planned for dinner, every time I made plans with a loved one that didn’t pan out for reasons beyond our control, and even how many times the dog ate something she shouldn’t have and how that inconvenienced me.  For some reason I keep track of these things.  Rarely do I even think about the good things.

In the meeting with Bishop last night he was recalling a story about someone in one of his churches who drew a dumpster fire.  Every time something went wrong at the church, she drew another flame in the dumpster.  Bishop said that he didn’t think it was very uplifting and encouraged her to change her drawing.  He said he told her to draw a bare tree and every time something went right to draw a new leaf on the tree.  It didn’t take long for the tree to be full of leaves and life.

I am pretty sure that leafed out, lively tree led to a change of perspective.  Bishop and the artist could look at that tree and focus on the good things.  And when we focus on the good, the bad seems to be diminished.  Granted, the bad will never go away as long as we are in this world, but when we are not focused on it somehow life seems a little bit sweeter.

My friend’s article from January ends this way “As we begin a new season, remember to celebrate our victories.  When we take time to soothe our souls, we discover that hope lies at the very core.  Equipped with reassurance of our abilities, we can be the beacon of light our loved ones need in times of crisis.  I wish all of you, my dear blood brothers and sisters, a very prosperous 2023, and I hope that you take time to rediscover the strength in all of us.”  (Joe MacDonald for Hemophilia News Today).  I know this article was directed to a very specific audience, but I think the sentiment is universal.

Scripture says, “For where your treasure is, there will your heart be also.” (Luke 12:34)  I know this is in a larger passage that reminds us to focus on Jesus instead of material things.  Yet, I think it is a good reminder for our every day.  Whatever we focus on everyday will be what we see.  It is where our hearts will be.  If we don’t consciously choose to treasure the good, we will only see the bad.  When I do that, I tend to be grumpy, depressed, and upset.

I don’t know about you, but today I am going to try to see the beauty around me and celebrate our victories, no matter how big or small.  Will you join me?

And that, friends, is all I have to say today.