My biological clock is ticking and so is yours.
Every Sunday, believers gather to hear the Gospel, and to participate together in the Lord’s Supper. We remember again that our hope is not found in our financial status, our career, or in our appearance on social media. Rather, our hope is found in Jesus as a gift of God’s grace. We are called to live in gratitude as a response to this hope.
So what does my gratitude look like on a Monday afternoon, at a meeting on Wednesday morning, or on Friday evening?
Basically, my gratitude is a way of life:
Gratitude impacts how I treat people. Gratitude impacts the way I treat my neighbor, beginning with my family. For example, do I show kindness and forgiveness in how I treat others? (Eph. 4:32)
Gratitude shapes my priorities. My gratitude allows me to steward my time, energy, and gifts toward things that really matter.
Gratitude can help give me stamina for the hard moments of my life. Gratitude doesn’t remove the difficult seasons of life. However, it gives me the grace to navigate life in difficult and challenging times.
Gratitude keeps me focused on the glory of God instead of myself. Gratitude means that I live for the honor of God and the good of others.
In the meantime, I am a work in progress and am still learning how to live with gratitude. However, I really want to remember at the beginning of each week what I have been given in Christ. I want my life to reflect my gratitude to Him.
As I read Scripture, pray, and participate in other spiritual disciplines, I remember that by the grace of God, I have a gift I could never earn. I have the opportunity to live with gratitude, instead of feeling entitled or focusing on what I lack.
Mike Singletary, the All-Pro former middle-linebacker for the Chicago Bears said “Everything I have, I have been given by somebody else.”
This begins with what God has given to each one of us in Jesus. We are called to live with gratitude.
I once heard singer, songwriter Amy Grant describe herself as “a lost ball in tall grass.”
If you have ever played golf, you know the feeling of losing a ball in tall grass. The shot lands in the rough and the search begins.
Years ago, I played golf regularly in the summer, and usually at Tenison Golf Course in Dallas. I remember the early mornings when I looked and looked for that little white ball in the tall, dew soaked grass.
Perhaps you know the feeling. You may have felt disoriented, out of place, and uncertain as to what to do next.
When this happens:
Pray for clarity. Pray that you may have the wisdom, patience, and stamina to continue to love God and love others even when you are overwhelmed. Remember the words of James - “If any of you lacks wisdom, you should ask God . . .” (James 1:5).
Return to the center. Spend time with the basic truths of Scripture. For me this sometimes begins with remembering the song I learned as a child:
Jesus loves me this is know
For the Bible tells me so
Little ones to him belong
They are weak and he is strong
Yes, Jesus loves me.
Talk to a few mature, Godly people, who also listen well. Consider someone who has walked with the Lord for many years.
My phone is an amazing tool. It can do much, especially in the realm of productivity. My phone has my calendar, it enables me to text or e-mail, and can quickly do a search. If I need to pay a bill, I can do this with my phone. If I don’t know where I am, my phone knows.
Yet, I am also grateful for the very timely warnings given by Jonathan Haidt, Jean Twenge and others regarding smartphones and children. I am also grateful for the parents who are looking for opportunities to delay giving a phone to their children.
There are certain things my phone can’t do.
My phone cannot give me wisdom. It may give me bite size pieces of information, but it cannot give me spiritual wisdom. I’m referring to the kind of spiritual wisdom a man or woman can get from walking with the Lord and living life.
My phone does not know my soul. All of us are a mixture of blessings, wounds, hurts, etc. As believers we have brought our story to Jesus to redeem for God’s glory and the good of the world. We are invited to participate in the larger story of God’s mission in this world.
My phone cannot replace my human presence. There is no substitute for being present with another human being. There is no substitute for a warm handshake, a hug, or being in the presence of someone who is shedding a tear or enjoying a laugh.
One of the most challenging tasks for ministers, pastors, or church leaders is remembering that every person in the congregation has a different story.
The single mother worried about the negative spiritual influence her ex-husband might have on her daughters.
The young couple living above their means and drowning in debt as they struggle to maintain a certain appearance.
A fifty-year-old man whose cancer has drained his energy and strength.
A college student, home for summer, is ashamed of some of the choices made while away from home.
A retiree wondering if his most meaningful years are in the past.
A couple in their thirties overwhelmed by work, children, and their exhausting schedule.
These stories are very real.
Perhaps real ministry begins as we remember that people are carrying burdens that may be unseen.
A few helpful practices:
Be intentional about paying attention to people whose struggles and burdens are different from your own.
Pause and imagine someone else’s world. It can be helpful to sit quietly before you pray and reflect on a particular individual or family. “What would it be like to be _________?” “What feelings, thoughts, fears, might this person be carrying?
Pray specifically for this person or family.
Like so many people, I am reading Theo of Golden by Allen Levi. Such a very good book. (See Russell Moore’s excellent interview with the author.)
“Was Churchill a Serious Artist? This Exhibition Says ‘Yes’ " by Leo Sands, in The New York Times (June 2, 2026). (Maybe a paywall)
I enjoyed looking at these: “10 winning photos from the World Food Photography Awards 2026” (BBC).
I first heard of this from former Senator Ben Sasse. An interesting study on loneliness from the University of Arizona. See: “Loneliness and time alone in everyday life: A descriptive-exploratory study of subjective and objective social isolation.”
You might enjoy looking at the “readings” offered by The Trinity Forum. I find it interesting to skim through these readings, some familiar and some not so familiar.
I formerly served as Vice President of Harding School of Theology, Memphis, Tennessee. Prior to this, I served as a minister in various congregations for 36 years.
Much of my time is spent in conversation with ministers and other church leaders. I do mentor/coaching each week. I continue to teach and preach in various congregations by request.
I am a husband, father, and grandfather. One of my favorite things to do is to come alongside another person and encourage her or him.
My e-mail address is: jmartin9669@gmail.com. Feel free to write. I would love to hear what is encouraging. — Jim Martin
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