The wonder of each of the four seasons of the year fills me with awe: the beauty of God’s creation found right outside my front door. While I have always been aware of this beauty, it became much more evident for me throughout the pandemic.
What began as a practice early on into the pandemic has morphed into a focused discipline of daily walks in my community and beyond. In order to counter isolation and loneliness in the early days of COVID-19, and also in the hopes of improving my overall health, I decided to begin a program of walking.
I started out by posting a few pictures each day on Facebook and then I began to comment on each picture. I soon discovered that it was important for me to delve into scripture and find suitable biblical passages that would be appropriate, and hopefully meaningful, for each day.
I have employed several themes throughout my practice. Last fall I began by posting “Just One Word” for each day with accompanying photos. As we entered a new church year in Advent, I decided that I would walk through all the seasons of the church year with a different theme for each season. Advent was about waiting; Christmas highlighted celebration and in the season of Epiphany I offered Epiphany greetings and a daily prayer.
There were miscellaneous themes through Lent, and finally in the Easter season I walked through the alphabet with a letter of the alphabet each day on which to focus. And now the journey through the Season of Pentecost begins.
On April 25 I posted: As I walked this afternoon the wind was cold, the streets were grimy and everything seemed brown and lifeless but, with gratitude, I looked up and saw blue skies and the promise of buds to appear on the trees.
The Easter alphabet letter for today is “G” which stands for “gratitude.”
The best days both begin and end with gratitude. But gratitude is more than thankfulness. While thankfulness is an emotion, gratitude is an attitude of appreciation under any circumstance. Gratitude involves being thankful, but it is more than that. It also means expressing thankfulness and being appreciative of daily life even when nothing exciting happens. Gratitude is about being content, physically and mentally with the state of your life. You may not always be happy but you can still practice gratitude.
Expressing gratitude is beneficial in many ways. Gratitude increases positive emotion; it multiplies the good; it enhances empathy; it expands generosity,and compassion; promotes optimism. Gratitude increases joy and happiness and helps to get a better perspective on life.
A simple way to improve your appreciation and quality of life is to take a few moments each day to reflect on the good and to think of ways to make this world a better place in which to live.
Paul, in his letter to the Colossians, writes: As God’s chosen ones, holy and beloved, clothe yourself with compassion, kindness, humility, weakness, and patience. Bear with one another and, if anyone has a complaint against another, forgive each other, just as the Lord has forgiven you, so you also must forgive. Above all clothe yourself with love, which binds everything together in perfect harmony. And let the peace of Christ rule in your hearts to which indeed you were called in one body. And be thankful (Colossians 3:12–15).
On April 26 I wrote: I am still looking up! That seems to be the best thing to do when there’s nothing new on the ground! All I can do is hope that spring is truly here. And it just so happens that the Easter alphabet letter for the day is “H” which stands for “Hope.”
Can you imagine a world without hope? Can you visualize what it must be like to live in a situation that feels completely hopeless? Maybe you have felt that way.
I see hope as what sustains us on our life’s journey. Even on the very darkest day there are faint glimmers of hope. And when we are hope-filled we can reach out to those who are feeling hopeless.
As a gift I once received a plaque on which is written: For surely I know the plans I have for you, says the Lord, plans for your welfare, and not for harm, to give you a future with hope (Jeremiah, 29:11). I look at that plaque daily and give thanks to God that I have hope.
When Paul wrote to the church in Rome, he said this: For in hope we were saved. Now hope that is seen is not hope. For who hopes for what is seen? But if we hope for what we do not see, we wait for it with patience (Romans 8:24–25).
I am blessed to live very close to a beautiful green space called Wascana Park in Regina. It is the home of countless Canada geese and many ducks which inhabit the small man-made lake. Walking paths circle the lake and even in the winter they are kept free of snow and ice. Our Legislative buildings sit on the shore of the lake.
In 2020 and 2021 the United Nations have named Regina a “Tree City of the World.” Regina is one of 120 cities globally, as well as 15 cities nationally, to be accepted into the Tree Cities of the World program. A press release from the city states that Regina has more than 500,000 hand-planted trees that help with flooding and natural cooling, plus they remove the CO2 equivalent of 3,330 midsize vehicles from the atmosphere each year. There are many other parks throughout the city that encourage citizens to get out and enjoy God’s beautifully created natural world.
Another of the wonderful benefits of daily walking is the opportunity to engage in conversation with others who are on the same journey. I believe that these brief encounters help to brighten the day because the few words that we share almost always end up with a smile.
You can follow my journey through the Pentecost Season by asking to be my friend on Facebook; I would be happy to accept you. You can also begin your own daily practice! All you need are some good shoes, a bit of time and eyes to see or ears to hear. God’s beautiful world is waiting for you to discover it.—Darlene Harrison
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