one thousand gifts

Family, friends, a roof over my head, food on the table…those are the things I normally thanked God for blessing me with.

Then I read “One Thousand Gifts” by Ann Voskamp. Until I read that, I honestly didn’t realize or ever think about all the gifts God has given us. Yes, there were those days I would be in an extra grateful mood. But rarely did I go through the day with a heart of gratitude towards everything.

Like many others I talk to, I get so caught up in the day. In life, I forget to be thankful.

Ok, so to be honest, I only started reading this book because the cover of the book is really pretty (yes, a communications major who studies about marketing strategic fell victim of one!) and I got it half off. It wasn’t on my must-read-list.

(Now, I tell everyone about it. And that they must read it!)

Then in the first chapter Voskamp wrote: “Joy is the realest reality, the fullest life, and joy is always given, never grasped. God gives gifts and I give thanks and I unwrap the gift given: joy.”

Think about that for a while. Reread it.

I had to stew on it for a long time!

If you haven’t read this book, I encourage you to do so. Voskamp writes that she was learning to be joyful in life. But how? Jesus tells us to be joyful. Sometimes it’s hard with different situations, with life really.

When something came up in Voskamp’s life, like she started feeling overwhelmed, stressed, anxious or if someone was really pushing her patience to the limits, she would simply start saying thanks.

If it were a stressful situation, she would give thanks for things within the situation. When someone was really getting under her skin, she would say thanks for that person’s qualities.

It’s hard. But when giving thanks, the stress melts away. When giving thanks, that person turns out to be an asset (a gift) not an annoyance.

Giving thanks to God, being grateful, for the gifts God’s given helps us unwrap joy.

“Joy is the realest reality, the fullest life, and joy is always given, never grasped. God gives gift and I give thanks and I unwrap the gift given: joy.”

Try it. I started giving thanks for the things I normally wouldn’t have given a second thought. I started counting gifts in the middle of panic attacks and stress, in the impatient moments, in the times when joy wasn’t present.

I’m going to post every Sunday some of the things throughout the past week that I counted as gifts.

At first this was a hard task. But try it. Don’t give up on it, and soon you’ll realize you count gifts, give thanks, like it’s a normal thing.

Don’t you think God, our Creator, gets excited when we thank Him? Glory to His name for the gifts He blesses us with and the joy He gives!

Leave a comment if you’re going to count gifts with me!