For years now I have been reminded again and again of the critical importance of gratitude as a daily practice. That doesn't mean I always excel at practicing it daily. But I'm convinced that I need to, whether or not I actually do.
For the last eleven Thanksgivings, I've enjoyed dwelling deeply in the THANKS of this holiday: compiling a list of 100 things I'm thankful for and posting it on the holiday. It's poetry of sorts--the tiny details and the pillars of my life, the simple earthly pleasures and the facets of God's character, the joys and the hard eucharisteo, all smashed together in one long list.
This year I'm thanking God for, among His countless blessings to me, these specific hundred:
7703. nerve endings on my scalp
7704. my boys' smooth, kissable cheeks and foreheads
7705. my husband's strong arms and shoulders
7706. a family that likes to snuggle
7707. hand-holding
7708. Steve playing countless board games with the boys
7709. bedtime prayers
7710. handmade table to contain all the Legos
7711. Elijah reading to Jude
7712. sharing without coercion
7713. my boys' impossibly long eyelashes
7714. awkward, crowded adult teeth in a kid's mouth
7715. baby teeth with huge gaps between them
7716. feet growing so fast that new shoes look like skis
7717. uncontrollable giggles
7718. the pleasures of vacation
7719. the comforts of home
7720. exciting new experiences
7721. familiar rhythms and routines
7722. Heaven, the best of both: endless thrilling discoveries with the realest sense of belonging and being Home
7723. mugs with logos that remind me of places
7724. the capacity to learn language
7725. the fact that I haven't killed my spider plants in almost six months
7726. Steve's safety precautions when remodeling
7727. battery-powered lightsabers on long nighttime car rides
7728. the privilege of intercession
7729. the sting of conviction
7730. the humiliation of confession
7731. the relief of forgiveness
7732. the hope of resurrection
7733. a dining room table that can seat twelve
7734. the fact that we have often gotten to fill it
7735. all the gouges and dings and scratches that give it character
7736. the miraculous fact that I have learned to cook for a crowd without feeling overwhelmed
7737. a freezer for leftovers
7738. the Advent wreath Steve made
7739. the anticipation of playing Christmas music
7740. a second Christmas tree for the office, bought on clearance last December
7741. our little Jesse Tree
7742. time with family over the holidays
7743. Italian espresso on a terrace in Rome
7744. cappuccino gianduia in a Naples train station
7745. cinnamon dolce latte at Starbucks with a friend
7746. spiced apple cider sipped on dark mornings under a quilt
7747. homemade bone broth simmering on my stove
7748. time stamps on digital photos
7749. street view + linked photos on Google Maps
7750. Yelp restaurant reviews
7751. calligraphers on Instagram
7752. all the funny humans who create memes and tweets and videos that make me laugh out loud
7753. soaring dome of St. Peter's Basilica, Vatican City
7754. multicolored marble in Chiesa del Gesu Nuovo, Naples
7755. frescoes of Santa Maria Novella, Florence
7756. stained glass and woodwork of St. Paul's United Methodist, Montpelier
7757. the basement of an old hospital, RBC Nashville
7758. Humans of New York
7759. StoryCorps
7760. storyteller-photographers
7761. storyteller-songwriters
7762. storytellers
7763. the perfectly soft skin of a baby
7764. my husband's increasing number of gray hairs
7765. lines around my eyes: I have smiled enough times in 33 years to create permanent creases in my skin
7766. the veined and wrinkled hands of the elderly
7767. the ability to exercise
7768. stories of injustice that make me uncomfortable
7769. stories of suffering that open my eyes
7770. opportunities to help bear burdens
7771. the means to give and relieve suffering
7772. the capacity for empathy, so much more than I had when I was younger
7773. Colossians study with women at church
7774. psalms of lament
7775. Jeremiah's guarantees of faithfulness and new mercies
7776. memorizing Revelation with the boys
7777. the promises of Romans 8
7778. connections with new friends
7779. reconnections with old friends
7780. happy mail
7781. lettering others' names on envelopes to give them happy mail
7782. places to belong
7783. David Powlison's wise reminder: "God seems content to work on a scale of centuries within the church and a scale of decades with individuals."
7784. seeing and rejoicing at that slow but perceptible movement
7785. hindsight glimpses of how beautifully He was at work
7786. the privilege of walking with a new believer, seeing her grow in faith
7787. hopeful glimpses of how He is changing me
7788. broken toes
7789. the body's ability to self-heal
7790. miraculous healings
7791. ordinary, faithful, hardworking doctors and nurses who heal
7792. healings via going Home
7793. mottled clouds blowing across a full moon
7794. pinks and purples and oranges at sunset
7795. Orion in the winter night sky
7796. warm sunshine
7797. flickering firelight
7798. the sweetness of this season of motherhood
7799. reassurances from older moms that the best is yet to come
7800. the discomfort of having to walk by faith, without a five- or ten-year plan
7801. still being able to joke with Steve over our kids' heads
7802. still being able to pick up both my boys
Thursday, November 26, 2015
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