He who sacrifices thank offerings honors me, and he prepares the way so that I may show him the salvation of God. – Psalm 50:23
The sense of peace I feel within my life is increasing. Today feels beautiful even though the sky is grey and rain is most surely to come. It is the thanksgiving I feel—an appreciation in my heart for everything. That is my new direction—one that is way more fulfilling and satisfying than knowing what God has waiting for me after my race because it is burrowing in my heart right now. The question I am beginning to ask myself is: how can I find thankfulness in everything that God gives me, whether good or bad (depending on one’s perspective)?
I watched a brilliant movie Tuesday night, The Fault in Our Stars based on the fiction by John Greene and began a terrific non-fiction book Wednesday morning, titled One Thousand Gifts: A Dare to Live Fully Right Where You Are by Ann Voskamp. Both are showing me how significant and special any and every moment can be if we allow it to be. These moments are not fiction; they are real, they are happening in our everyday lives—right now, right where we are standing. Are we just catching glimpses of them or are we allowing ourselves to experience them?
I don’t want the moments God gives me to just be glimpses in my memories. I want to see every sunset, hear every rain drop, taste every piece of chocolate freshly melted in my favorite pumpkin oatmeal cookies, smell every blade of fresh cut grass and deeply feel every moment that takes my breathe away and weakens my knees underneath me.
This sense of intimacy started when God took me from the rich, damp soil and breathed life into my very being. He took you from the same earth and breathed his spirit and power into you too. You are his best creation, as am I. That is the first, of many things I am thankful for. The second being Jesus’ sacrifice on the cross, gracefully and lovingly cleansing the sins that stained my hands. And when I accepted Christ as my Savior, God took my heart and quilted its torn pieces back together so I would have the capacity to experience and deeply love the enormity of his blessings in such small mundane things as warm cookies and fresh cut grass. I am beginning to understand, without a doubt in my heart, God created us to live a life in thanksgiving.
So here I am, at 29, seven months into this crazy experience of icy cold showers, nightly hammock slumbers and only a 65 liter backpack to organize my life and I am the happiest I have ever been. Not because my situation is better, but because my perspective is. In Matthew 6:22, Jesus says, “The eye is the lamp of the body. If your eyes are good, your whole body will be full of light.”
I am going to take Ann Voskamp’s lead and write a list of 1000 gifts, which God is bestowing upon me. These gifts are the everyday small moments that make me smile, urge me to pause and give praise to the Lord. If you would like to join me, I would love to have some company on my journey to 1000.
May God bless your steps,
Isa
For everything God created is good, and nothing is to be rejected if it is received with thanksgiving, because it is consecrated by the word of God and prayer. – 1 Timothy 4:4-5
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A clip from my list of God’s 1000 gifts:
5. Acoustic music saturating my headphones.
6. Warm milk in tea.
7. Beautiful handwriting.
