“You have turned my mourning into joyful dancing.
You have taken away my clothes of mourning and clothed me with joy,
that I might sing praises to you and not be silent.
O Lord my God, I will give you thanks forever!”
Psalm 30
So it turns out that writing down on paper the gifts we see from God is a big part of the thankful journey. I thought that writing in a blog format only would do the trick, but I have been feeling a huge urge to put pen to paper and keep a hand written journal of one thousand gifts, as Ann VosKamp suggests we do.
Today I bought a small journal that fits into my pocketbook so I can jot down the gifts as I see them. And here’s the thing – when you are writing them on paper in a journal, the gifts become more apparent. As I wrote down my first four gifts, more started popping to mind. Seeing the world through thankful eyes makes all the difference.
- a soft breeze on a warm fall day
- the clean taste of water when you are really thirsty
- green pumkpins
- cinderella pumpkins with their blazing orange color and squashed shape
- an unexpected anniversary gift from my husband
And then it hits me. I have seen this way before. Years ago, in a particularly fruitful spiritual time in my life, on retreat. But hey, now I am feeling the retreat closeness to God just living my regular life. Thank you God for Ann Voskamp’s gift with words and for whomever first thought it was a good idea to write a list of one thousand gifts.
Bound in Love 