EUCHARISTEO

The anticipated package arrived... day before yesterday... and again I am amazed at the Lord's timing!  I had heard so much about the book:  "one thousand gifts" by Ann Voskamp.  The Amazon box was opened and out fell three copies of the book.  I love reading and when I find a wonderful book... I like to share... so that is the reason for the three copies.  Yesterday the journey through the white crisp pages began.  By the end of the second chapter --- I had grown a love for my new "favorite word"... EUCHARISTEO... the Greek word for "thanksgiving" or "giving of thanks"!  Actually as the writer breaks down this word it contains (grace, thanksgiving, and joy) all packed neatly in its 11 consonants and vowels.  How appropriate for the time of year we are in.... fall - November - the month of Thanksgiving.... Oh, but I feel the Lord has much more for me in the pages of this little book than just something for this time of year.

I have pondered much on this excerpt from Chapter 1:

"Standing before that tree, laden with fruit withheld, we listen to Evil's murmur, "In the day you eat from it your eyes will be opened..." (Genesis 3:5 NASB).  But in the beginning, our eyes were already open.  Our sight was perfect.  Our vision let us see a world spilling with goodness.  Our eyes fell on nothing but the glory of God.  We saw God as He truly is: good.  But we were lured by the deception that there was more to a full life, there was more to see.  And, true, there was more to see: the ugliness we hadn't beheld, the sinfulness we hadn't witnessed, the loss we hadn't known."

I have often thought of all the things lost in the Garden of Eden... but had never really considered that this is the place where the catalyst of all sin began:  "ingratitude!"  In the following words - I found my "cynical self":

"We eat.  And, in an instant, we are blind.  No longer do we see God as one we can trust.  No longer do we perceive Him as wholly good.  No longer do we observe all of the remaining paradise.  We eat.  And, in an instant, we see.  Everywhere we look, we see a world of lack, a universe of loss, a cosmos of scarcity and injustice."

Is it ever enough... do I always want more... something bigger... better... newer... do I compare my blessings to those of others... do I really view God as always GOOD????  In just the few chapters that I've read - I've had to face the reality that there are things that I'm grateful for - but just the same - there are things that I'm not satisfied with - times I've asked WHY - times I've asked WHY ME - times I've asked WHY NOT ME - I complain and gripe - I'm often afraid - I worry --- and the list goes on.  I have had to admit that I am also that person that she mentioned:  someone who is "born again but still so much in need of being "born anew!"

"In every thing give thanks: for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus concerning you."  (1 Thessalonians 5:18 KJV) 

"Gratitude bestows reverence, allowing us to encounter everyday epiphanies, those transcendent moments of awe that change forever how we experience life and the world."  ~Sarah Ban Breathnach

I look forward to reading, as Paul Harvey would say... "the rest of the story" ;)