Appreciation Repetition

I’m so glad to be beyond the crackling, scratching, jumping era of vinyl records (I’m well aware of dating myself about half a century having witnessed the record, 8 track, cassette, CD, MP3 evolution). The worst was the deep scratch that caused the needle to jump out of the groove, repeating the same section over and over and over again. A couple of coins or a little thumb pressure on the arm was the only hope of quieting this annoyance.

I’m feeling a bit like one of those annoying scratched up records by writing about appreciation again but am none-the-less compelled to reflect on it one last time. I could lie that I have much more to say, but in reality I need to have the appreciation mindset branded into my own brain.

Our generation seems to be addicted to the “latest”. As Americans we take a great deal of pride in having the newest, the best, the latest. We want the latest and best phone, computer app, fashion, brand, cereal, tool, and model. In some ways it’s good. It keeps us creative, forward thinking and learning. But in other ways it makes us materialistic and dissatisfied.

In the swirl of accumulation are we losing our ability to appreciate and wonder? When we do, a beautiful sunset becomes just another sunset. Just another daisy. Just another starry sky. Just another gentle wind. Just another snow flake.

God established the repetitiveness of nature – the continual cycle of seasons, consistent night stars and the constant crashing of waves. We get to enter in and appreciate it all. Like a child who is thrilled by an activity and yells, “Do it again!” Children have the ability to re-enter an experience and enjoy it all over again. Could it be that sunrises aren’t just the same old same old, but instead are God’s way of “doing it again?” Maybe the simple, the repetitive really gives us the opportunity to stop and appreciate the wonder of our God in it all.