We’ve had a lot go wrong lately.
It makes one weary and a little on edge.
Waiting, so to speak for the next ax to fall.
So when the good comes, sometimes it’s hard to enjoy.
Really.
It can be work.
Teaching yourself how to accept good.
I know there are good things all around.
We just need to look.
Train ourselves to see the good.
Each day reaching for gratitude.
Ann Voskamp began this journey of Gratitude.
Before I knew the intense grief of the loss of my mom, son, cancer, 2 dear friends and now my dad.
I delved into this practice.
Ann Voskamp challenged me to the core.
“I want to see beauty. In the ugly, in the sink, in the suffering, in the daily,
in all the days before I die, the moments before I sleep.” ~Ann Voskamp 1,000 Gifts
Seeking beauty in the ugly became most of what I knew.
I think I began to settle for that.
That is all there is.
The messy.
The broken.
The pain.
So when some good came knocking; I wasn’t prepared.
My system wasn’t sure how to handle this.
I want to be ready for the new thing.
The good.
“Eucharisteo—thanksgiving—always precedes the miracle.” ~Ann Voskamp 1,000 Gifts
Isaiah 43:19
See, I am doing a new thing! Now it springs up; do you not perceive it?
I am making a way in the wilderness and streams in the wasteland.
God is taking these broken pieces and He is creating something beautiful.
My story.
Which,I pray, reflects His Story.
I am thankful for:
The early morning quiet and coffee
the college girl who comes home tomorrow
my farmer who is concerned about said college girl and buys a new HEPA vacuum so she can be in the house
my farmer and the two farm girls who have tirelessly organized and cleaned; I don’t know how they do it
the anticipation of a full house
the oldest farm girl who is making her own traditions with those sweet farmettes
preparations for the Holidays
the excitement of the two farm girls over Thanksgiving and Christmas; their Nana would be so proud
Read aloud and the reminder of the faith of the Fathers who settled this country
dreary days that cause me to reach deep for the hand of God
dishes to wash, piles of laundry to fold, chicken poop on my beautiful porch
the things that are so beautiful and cause me to grow
people who pray for us and never let us go
this new day
May the practice of gratitude never grow old.
Praying that your day today is rich and full in knowledge that you are loved by a Creator who is fighting for you.
Exodus 14:14
The LORD will fight for you; you need only to be still.”
Have you been recording your gratitude?
Has it made a difference in your journey?
Tell us in the comments how this is going for you!
