500th Post

Three years ago I braved the unknown world of bloggers and readers of blogs to publish my first post. I wrote, “my desire is that through my journaling I will be able to better see the hand of God in my life as a whole and in the every day. In seeing the brevity in the stages of our life, I wish to focus on appreciating the moments.”

“Gratitude bestows reverence, allowing us to encounter everyday epiphanies, those transcendent moments of awe that change forever how we experience life and the world.”

Sarah Ban Greathnach

Ann Voscamp, in One Thousand Gifts, began a daily recording of simple things she was grateful for. It is evident that naming her blessings was the beginning of her journey of joy. I only read this very recently and I related it in a small way to my blogging. For when one is on the look out to really see … there is much more to see and enjoy.

Again and again, thanksgiving precedes the miracle of joy. Have you ever noticed the face of someone being thanked? And does her joy not bring joy to you as well? A whole world opens up in the act of recognition and filling in spaces, giving meaning to things invisible. Ann refers to Martin Luther , “If you want to change the world, pick up your pen,” and John Piper, “There are eyes in pencils and pens.” She writes, “that habit of discontentment can only be driven out by hammering in one iron sharper. The sleek pin of gratitude.”

I read how naming bestows meaning and value. Is that not the first thing parents do when a child is born? Products are recognized as to their value by names. I suppose there is a reason that a no-name product comes with an unspoken message of being cheap.

One Thousand Gifts is a breath of life-giving joy as I follow Ann’s naming of simple joys. She concedes that she desires to learn the hard giving of thanks for the “dark skies and prodigal sons” . . . but that we begin with the insignificant, the small things … because this, the giving of thanks, is a learning process.

So, with camera or pen in hand, I look for and name the moments. Moments I can look at long after they have passed … and remember with joy. This does not mean my life is only filled with good things, but maybe I can learn to give thanks in everything so that one day I may say, with the apostle Paul, “ I have learned to be content in whatever circumstance I am.”

Written with a thankful heart for all the reasons to name my blessings and for your part in giving me joy and encouragement . . . to keep writing.
Anneliese