Yup, you guessed it. I have read yet another book that has inspired me. This time it is "One Thousand Gifts" by Ann Voskamp. This beautifully written book follows her personal quest to find the key to the fullness of living. It's a fantastic read and I encourage you to do so! During her journey, a friend challenges her to come up with a list of 1000 Gifts or things to be grateful for. And this is where I picked up the title for this blog.
Hmmm… a list of 1000 things to be grateful for doesn't sound like that hard of a thing to come up with, until you actually try to do it. You see, I think we can all readily come up with maybe 50 or more "big" things to be grateful for. Things like I am grateful that I have a home to sleep in. Stuff like that. But, if you only look for and list the "big" items, it may take you several months, if not years to get to the 1000 mark.
And let's be honest, we have a bad habit of looking and focusing more on the "Big" bad things that are happening all around us. I would venture to guess that we would have an easier time coming up with 1000 things that are unsatisfactory, unacceptable, deficient, and harmful in our lives and world. All you would have to do to jot down that list would be to listened to the news, read the paper, or even peruse Facebook for one hour and your list would be fairly long.
And don't get me wrong, I'm not recommending the "put your head in the sand" approach to life. We can't just ignore the "bad" stuff happening all around us. However, I believe some of what is wrong with us has to do with our unwillingness to stop and recognize the gifts that God does endow upon us in everyday life.
"Gratitude for the seemingly insignificant -- a seed --this plants the giant miracle. The miracle of eucharisteo, like the last supper, is in the eating of crumbs, the swallowing down one mouthful. Do not disdain the small. The whole of life -- even the hard -- is made up of minute parts, and if I miss the infinitesimals, I miss the whole." Ann Voskamp
"Th art of being happy lies in the power of extracting happiness from common things." Henry Beecher
"Something always comes to fill the empty places. And when I give thanks for the seemingly microscopic, I make a place for God to grow within me. This, this, makes me full." Ann Voskamp
"For I have learned to be content whatever the circumstances. I know what it is to be in need, and I know what it is to have plenty. I have learned the secret of being content in any and every situation, whether well fed or hungry, whether living in plenty or in want." Philippians 4:11 & 12
"A man can do nothing better than to eat and drink and find satisfaction in his work. This too, I see, is from the hand of God." Ecclesiastes 2: 24
So, the challenge to find 1000 things to be grateful for requires you to examine your life differently. It requires you to look, really look, and be present in your day to day life. This takes practice. And, it may feel very awkward at first. You see, we have gotten out of the habit of feeling wonder. I'm not as eloquent in my descriptions as Ann Voskamp is but I'll share with you a few of my 1000 things to be grateful for from my own personal list to help describe to you what this looks like.
1. The flickering on and off of the lightening bugs at night, creating a natural sort of "Christmas in July" feeling in the woods around my house.
2. Spiderwebs covered in dew on foggy mornings, just as the sun, that is desperately trying to break through the fog, hits them and lights up the small drops of moisture so that they sparkle like a million little diamonds strung across the branches.
3. The way my sons big, almost full-grown man hands, now wrap around mine when we pray food blessings at dinner time.
4. The way my husbands eyes crinkle in the corners when he smiles at me.
You see, it really is the small things. Oh, but what a big shift it causes in my whole day, this gratitude and acknowledgement of these small gifts from God. These small prayers of thanksgiving make everything easier to bear. I can bear the hard stuff, knowing that there is also good stuff happening all around me. We need balance. We need to be able to see the balance. It is not good to be shifted all the way to one side or the other. If you cannot see both the good and the bad you tend to be immobilized, unable to move. If you see only the bad, you do not see the hope that is out there. Hopelessness keeps us unbalanced. Hopelessness tells us that there is no good, no mercy, no love from our God, Hopelessness makes doubt the center of our thinking. We may believe there is a God, but we have no faith in his love for us.
"Do not be anxious about anything, but in everything, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God. And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus." Philippians 4: 6 & 7 NIV
"Don't fret or worry. Instead of worrying, pray. Let petitions and praises shape your worries into prayers, letting God know your concerns. Before you know it, a sense of God's wholeness, everything coming together for good, will come and settle you down. It's wonderful what happens when Christ displaces worry at the center of your life." Philippians 4: 6 & 7, the message
"Summing it all up, friends, I'd say you'll do best by filling your minds and meditating on things true, noble, reputable, authentic, compelling, gracious -- the best, not the worst; the beautiful, not the ugly; things to praise, not to curse." Philippians 4:8, the Message
"The real problem of life--in my life-- is lack of thanksgiving. Thanksgiving creates abundance; and the miracle of multiplying happens when I give thanks--take just the one loaf, say it is enough, and give thanks--- and He miraculously makes it more than enough." Ann Voskamp
In case you haven't already figured it out, nothing about us, as human beings, surprises God. He knew that we would sometimes loose our balance. That we would go off the track and run smack dab into the mountain of trouble that is out there in the world. That we would forget to look for him in the everyday living of our lives. That's what Philippians 4 is all about. It's all about how to find the balance we need in life.
God is not unaware. He sends whispered "I love you" messages to you through everyday, mundane, experiences. Are you listening for them? Or are you letting the shouts of all that is unsatisfactory around you drown them out?
So, really, besides us "feeling good" about the gifts that God gives, why does gratitude matter? Here's why I think it matters. In John it is stated that "they will know we are Christians by our love" and in Matthew that we are commanded to "Love they neighbor." However, have you ever tried to share love when you don't feel loved? Let me give you a hint-- you can't. Not effectively. Not in a way that draws people.
Gratitude is acknowledging God's love for you. It is accepting the fact that God loves you so much that he is willing to give you better, more, than what you deserve. God's love is about abundance-- and I'm not talking about material abundance-- I'm talking about full-life abundance. Abundance of joy, peace, and love. So much abundance that it creates an overflow that you can't contain. That you overflow with so much love, and joy, and peace that it can't help but spill out on those around you. And then, others will be attracted to this God given abundance that is spilling out of your life.
And that, in my opinion, is the true secret gift of gratitude. That is why gratitude matters.
If you are struggling to see or feel God's love for you, I encourage you today to begin your own list. Retrain your eyes. Form a habit of daily gratitude. And believe me when I say, that even when things are hard, God's love is still there, waiting for you to discover it, in small daily whispered gifts.
I'll leave you with a few photos of simple gifts. Have a great day!
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