Last July, I began to count the gifts. There are a sea of black journals on my bookshelf, but this one is red and I wanted it that way. I want to think thankfulness when I see that flash of color. Ann invites us to share our gifts in community, counting one by one. Maybe one day I’ll count out loud. I wanted to start mine quietly at first, wanted to be able to carry the gifts around with me. And so I started last July, when my father-in-law was very sick. I made it to 100 this weekend.
I know that isn’t very many, 100 gifts, considering the sea of miracles I walk among everyday. It has been a slow listing, but it has been sweet. I’m thankful to Ann for the challenge, the joy dare. I long for space for my soul to breathe more than anything else. I look for the blessings and I discount the sufferings. We were told in this world we would have trouble, yet I’m still surprised when I do.
Thankfulness sometimes feels like tightrope walking. I record the gifts as I see them, knowing as I do that each one is just that – a gift, not a trophy. I want to acknowledge the gifts without holding them too tightly. I cannot possibly maintain and manage all of my own motives and desire. This is where the mystery of Christ meets the frailty of humanity. I am content to sit down where I am and acknowledge that I haven’t figured all these things out yet. And even that is a gift. Celebrate your smallness and join Ann and her gratitude community this year in counting the gifts?
And if you are interested, today you can watch as I talk with Bob and Audrey on My New Day TV about Grace for the Good Girl. This is part one of three that will air this week in Canada. So glad to meet these two. What fun they are together!
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