“I remember sitting at the hairdresser’s. The woman beside me reads & I read her title in the reflection of the mirror: ‘1000 places to see before you die.’ Is that it? Are there physical places that simply must be seen before I stop breathing within time, before I inhale eternity?
Why? to say that I’ve had reason to bow low? To say that I’ve seen beauty? To say that I’ve been arrested by wonder? Isn't it here? can’t I find it here?
I close the bathroom linen closet. Pick up a brush to swish toilets. I don’t need more time to breathe so that I may experience locales, possess more, & accomplish more. Because wonder really could be here– for the seeing eyes.
The face of Jesus flashes. Jesus, the God-man with his own termination date. Jesus, the God-man who came to save me from prisons of fear & guilt & depression & sadness. With an expiration date of less than 12 hours, what does Jesus count as all most important?……. ‘And he took bread, and GAVE THANKS and broke it, and gave it to them…’” (Luke 22:19)
Thanks.
The root word of Eucharisteo is charis, meaning “grace”; but it also holds its derivative, the greek word “chara” meaning “ joy”. Joy!, ahh yes, I’ll be needing me some of that! Is the height of my “chara” joy dependant on the depths of my “eucharisteo” thanks?” -Ann Voskamp
One thousand gifts. from one gift.
Eucharisteo.
This is what I’ve been dwelling on. and BOY is it a big piece of meat!
So I’ve been reading this book called “One Thousand Gifts” by Ann Voskamp (recommended by my friend Heather, thanks btw!) sound boring?……not so much!
It’s a challenge, a meaty one at that! (which I love) ….but it’s also like having gold nuggets dropped off at your door everyday, so I call that a reward. Therefore, it’s a rewarding challenge! (see you’re already set up for success), it’s a dare to live FULLY right where you are.
Ok enough talking, let my life do the convincing.
Eucharisteo. The greek word for “giving thanks” or “thanksgiving”.
“Eucharist (thanksgiving) is the state of a perfect man. Eucharist is the life of paradise. Eucharist is the only full and real response of man to God’s creation, redemption, and gift of heaven.” – Alexander Schemann
It’s 2012. The world is full of drugs, crime, prostitution, trafficking, and other horrible evils that we have let rent space here. It can be really easy to be drug under the hard and swift current of oppression. We also come from a generation of trauma much like the ones before us.
With so many things coming against us these days, each of us is bound to have a dose of it in our lives. It sometimes feels like we can’t “catch a break”. But realizing that Eucharisteo is the basis, the foundation of my relationship with God has brought life to a whole new level.
It’s given me a brand new perspective.
Have you ever been so in routine of life and everyday tasks that you just feel like your whole life is on “repeat” and you’re not getting anywhere fast? I sure have, I think most of us are in the same boat. The monotony of: getting up, breakfast, work, laundry, kids, showers, bed. Lather, Rinse, Repeat. (& repeat & repeat). That is the point where I realized I needed new perspective. And that’s (unfortunately) not just something you can go out and buy.
So I asked God for it. I heard He loves to give free gifts, no strings attached 😉
(preface with: story of Jesus healing the lepers)
“One of them, when he saw he was healed, came back, praising God in a loud voice. He threw himself at Jesus’ feet and thanked Him–and he was a samaritan.”
(Luke 17: 15-16)
Jesus asked “Were not all 10 cleansed? Where are the other 9? Was no one found to return and give praise to God except this foreigner?” Then he said to him “Rise and go; your faith has made you well.”
"WAIT……I trace back. Hadn’t Jesus already completely healed him? Exactly like the other 9 who were cured who hadn’t bothered to return and thank Him. So what does Jesus mean “your faith has made you well?”
Had I underinterpreted this passage, missed some hidden mystery? I slow down and dig.
If our fall was the non-eucharisteo, the ingratitude, then salvation must be intimately related to eucharisteo, the giving of thanks."
So this is my answer to a new perspective. I need eucharisteo.
So “one thousands gifts” is a list. But not your average grocery store list or list of chores. It’s an uplifting awesome reminder of God’s gold nuggets He gives us everyday. Ann Voskamp started making a list of the things she was thankful for, one by one.
“ 37. windmills droning in day’s last breeze, 38. wool sweaters with turtleneck collars, 39. faint aroma of cattle and straw; 54. moonlight on pillows, 55. long, lisped prayers, 56. kisses in dark; 117. washing warm eggs, 118. crackle in fireplace, 119. still warm cookies.; 243. clean sheets smelling like the wind, 244. hot oatmeal tasting like home, 245. bare toes in early light”
These are a few examples of her list. Reading over these small gifts that can amount to huge blessings helps refresh, renew, and redirect your perspective on life. Try it. I dare you. If something so considerably small could have the impact to change your entire life for the better, why not try it? I’m doing it. All the cool kids are doing it 😉 (<–said in a school bully’s voice)
I began to ask God to help me recognize His blessings in my life. These are a couple off my list:
cooking with my family in the kitchen, warm socks and blankets out of the dryer, contagious laughter <—I love it, sitting on my porch eating breakfast looking over the lake, the seagulls singing at the beach, the sunset across the water at night, the smell of fresh cotton candy at the fair, a running car and working job, the ability to have all my senses, the wind chimes at night, warm coffee on a frosty morning…..or every morning 😉
You get the point. Take some time, start writing down what you’re thankful for. Not just once, but keep it up, and even re-read it sometimes. It honestly will change your perspective. It’s really that easy. It will change who you are for the better……& It’s free, what more convincing do you need! 🙂
