Heart of Thankfulness Week 6

Week 6 of “heart of thankfulness” is here!  If you’re reading along, or have read Ann Voscamp’s book, leave us some feedback.  We would love to know your thoughts on the chapter!

-------------------------------

“Every moment I live, I live bowed to something.  And if I don’t see God, I’ll be bowed down before something else.”

I want to see God.  Truly, I do.  But, sometimes I just see everything else.  The pain, the struggles, the frustrations, the ugly… I see the negative.  I lose sight of the positive.  I lose sight of the good… even if I only caught a glimpse for a second.

“Eucharisteo is everywhere and I want to see euchariesteo everywhere and I want to remember how badly I really want to see it.”

Sometimes my longing to see the good physically hurts.  I WANT to see it!  Why is choosing it so hard?

“but, faith is always a way of seeing, a seeking for God in everything.  And if the eyes gaze long enough to see God lifted in a thing, how can the lips not off eucharisteo?”

Faith.  Faith is the key.  Without faith in the One who is Truth, we miss everything.  We miss it because of fear, of distraction, of trying to figure this life thing out on our own.  But, when we have faith.  When we’ve placed every single thing we’ve got in his hands.  When we wake up in the morning and decide to let it all go that day, we get the chance to see.  We get the chance to see because the burden on our back that had us staring at the ground has been lifted (Matthew 11:30). 

“Living in his presence is fullness of joy- and seeing shows the way in.  The art of deep seeing makes gratitude possible.  And it is the art of gratitude that makes joy possible.  Isn’t joy the art of God.”

Wait… we can SEE the way into his presence?  Is it that easy?  Can we just choose to see his gifts, his glory and live in his presence?  Yes, we can.  And that’s where joy lives.  Joy lives with gratitude and gratitude with joy.  One doesn’t exist without the other. 

And neither exist without choosing to see.