Thankfulness

I had mentioned several posts back about this new idea that I have been pondering for the past weeks, the thought of thankfulness.  I recently read the book One Thousand Gifts by Ann Voskamp, a book about learning how to be thankful.  When I was told about the book I was not that interested because quite frankly I was tired of reading Christian self-help books on "how to pray" or "how to be thankful."  I just wasn't interested.  Well it was over Khmer New Year that I read the book, and thought, "what the heck I am going to a beach I might as well read it."  The book was transformational.  I haven't read a book in a long time that has had such a lasting impact on me.  This book has changed my mindset.

The theme of the book is the question, "Is the height of my joy dependent on the depth of my thanks?"  The more I read of this woman's journey to find thankfulness the more I agreed that we find joy, true joy, when we become fully grateful people.  People that are thankful for the small things in life, and not just the things you go around the table at Thanksgiving saying you are thankful for--family, friends, your home, your health.  But begin to be thankful for the everyday mundane things, the things you pass on the street everyday you drive to work.  As I read the book I started to see the world in a new light, seeing the beauty of all the plant and flower shops on the road to Chris' school, the beautiful scarf that covers almost every older women's head, the bright red wall we painted in our living room.

Then came the next mindset shift...Could I become someone that is thankful for the bad, ugly, painful, and evil things of the world?  When life strikes you down, could I still give thanks?  One close friend of mine who also read the book said, she looks at this idea of a life of gratitude as a way to prepare your heart for when life really falls in the dumps.  That as we change the way we see people, places, situations, that maybe we are preparing ourselves for those hard times that everyone knows comes at some point.  Could I look at my thoughts of missing home, the constant stress of finances, or the difficulties in grocery shopping as something I could be thankful for?

The author challenged herself to write down a running list of 1,000 things (or what she calls gifts) she is thankful for.  I was also inspired by this idea to challenge myself into looking at life through a new lens.  At first 1,000 seems like that would be easy.  Well, I have been writing down my list for about a month now and I am somewhere near 200, and see that this challenge is going to take me many years of training my eyes and my heart to see the world differently.  But in one short month I have quickly realized that living in gratitude or thankfulness is a better place to rest your thoughts.  I have begun to see my days, my struggles, and even life totally differently, each day is a day worth being thankful for no matter how terrible it seems. 

To answer the original question, I do think the height of your joy is dependent on the depth of your thanks.  I am always telling Chris when I (or we) face something that seems incredibly difficult or challenging we have to choose joy, because it is too easy to get frustrated, angry, or bitter here, and I want to constantly choose joy no matter what it is.

The author then ends the book in talking about the word Eucharisto, coming from the roots of joy, grace, and thankfulness.  The same roots we get for Eucharist, or communion.  She recalls the story of the Last Supper when Jesus broke bread and poured wine and told his disciples, "whenever you partake in this do it in remembrance of me."  He then gave thanks.  The night before His crucifixion, He gave thanks.  Now that sets the stage of how to truly be living in gratitude.  His life and teachings were full of thanksgiving. Can I do this, be thankful in all things, and not just thankful for all things?  To be thankful while they are going on?

One of my favorite quotes is how she describes the hard things in life, "I wonder too..if the holes in the canvas of our life backdrop, the losses that puncture our world, our own emptiness, might actually become places to see. To see through to God. That which tears open our souls, those holes that splatter our sight, may actually become the thin, open places to see through the mess of this place to the heart-aching beauty beyond. To Him. To the God whom we endlessly crave".

Needless to say, I would highly recommend the book to anyone who is inspired by the idea of finding deeper joy in their life, and discovering a lifestyle of gratitude.