Morning Spiritual Workout

by the Rev. Tim Hart-Andersen

Counting our Blessings… That’s not the kind of language I typically use when talking about my faith. When our Stewardship 2012 team came up with that theme for this year’s stewardship program, I admit that it made me a bit uncomfortable.

After all, isn’t it a bit prideful to count one’s blessings? It can easily slip into boasting about all one has.

On the other hand, that’s the theme the committee chose, and I had to live with it! I have since made peace with it; in fact, in this time when instability abounds and things can seem so ephemeral, I find it reassuring to pause and remember the many ways I have been blessed. Frankly, it compels my gratitude – and that’s a good thing in stewardship season, because our giving is first and foremost an expression of gratitude.

Each morning I begin the day on the floor. That is, I go through a workout, doing crunches, stretches, push-ups, and anything else I can do to get the old body up and running. I conclude my physical workout with spiritual exercises. I pray my way into the day.

In my morning spiritual workout I begin with an expression of praise to God for the gift of another day. I use the psalms: “This is the day the Lord has made, I will rejoice and be glad in it… From the rising of the sun to the going down of the same, the name of the Lord is to be praised.”

From there I move on to ask forgiveness for the ways I fall short of God’s hope for me. Then my prayer turns to gratitude. I now realize that what I do in my prayer each day is… count my blessings. I begin with giving thanks for what Beth and I call “our five family” – the two of us and our three children. What a blessing they are to me!

I then find myself cycling through others in my life, thanking God for each of them… parents, siblings, friends, colleagues.

My daily prayer always includes deep gratitude for the blessing of being called to serve Westminster church. In my prayer I imagine myself looking out at the congregation, at each face there, at each life. The pastor is always counting; I hadn’t thought of it in this way before, but I now see myself not merely counting attendance on a Sunday morning – I‘m counting my blessings!

Through this stewardship season at Westminster we’ll hear from church leaders and staff members. We’ll invite them to “count their blessings” and share them with us – in text or photos or poetry or in whatever creative way they choose. Stay tuned; this blog itself will be a blessing to all of us!

How do you count your blessings?