In The Wasteland, T. S. Eliot says ‘April is the cruellest month’ but I’m more minded to award that dubious accolade to January or February. After the excitement of Christmas, we are hit with more cold and dark months. After the celebrations of New Year’s Eve, New Year’s Day seems to me to appear with a whimper, failing to deliver much at all. It’s a dark and gloomy time of year that many find challenging.
The church year helps provide some balance as we celebrate Epiphany, the Baptism of Christ and Candlemas, although Lent then seems to come hot on their heels to keep us on our toes.
A lovely former vicar of mine who had been completely through the mill said that two things helped him through his darkest times. First, regular Morning Prayer, as his vocation demanded and his spirit needed. That regular pattern of prayer kept him connected with God even when God felt very distant. Second, David would ‘Count your blessings one by one. Name them day by day.’
Whatever is going on with us and around us, there is always something for which we can be thankful. Cultivating that thankfulness is not about a blinkered optimism or having an inability to see what needs to be resolved and improved, but it is about not being dragged down by them.
As we say each Morning Prayer, ‘As we rejoice in the gift of this new day, may the light of your presence, O God, set our hearts on fire with love for you, now and for ever.’ Let’s make 2024 a year of rejoicing in the gift of every day and for that thankfulness to enflame our hearts.
Jeff Claxton
