My Gratitude Journey

My gratitude journey began in 2011.  Inspired by this book that was based on a dare to live fully right where you are... I began a journey that has indeed changed my life.

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

It's all beauty. All around us. And it's when we choose to SEE these things with eyes wide open that we can truly give thanks to the God who created this vast universe with all it's pleasures.

But what do you do when you're counting gifts and the joy doesn't come because all you hear is noise? When the reality of your world is doubting doctors and grim prognosis's and you can't see past today because today is littered with uncertainty and pain and sadness and tears? What then?

And I dig deep into the Word to find it and I desperately call on God for help because this journey - it's not easy. And the road is sometimes curvy and the valleys sometimes run too deep and too wide. And we get tired and we loose sight of why we're here.

This... this is reality.

It's reality for cancer patients.
It's reality for parent's who've lost a child.
It's reality for victims of rape.
It's reality for those who've been imprisoned or impoverished.

It's reality... we all hurt sometimes. And I search for what to call it... maybe it's this "fight for joy" that's so hard sometimes.

But we have a word that we can hold tightly too. A word from The Word. The word is Eucharisteo.

The Greek word, Eucharisteo can be found in Luke 22:19...

"And He took bread, gave thanks and broke it, and gave it to them..."

Gave thanks reads as Eucharisteo.

And isn't that a beautiful word?

Eucharisteo.

The root word for eucharisteo is 'charis', meaning, "grace". Jesus took the bread and saw it as grace and grave thanks. He took the bread and knew it to be a gift and He gave thanks.

But there's more!

Eucharisteo, thanksgiving, envelopes the Greek word for grace, 'charis'. But it also holds it's derivative, the Greek word 'chara', meaning "joy".

So consider this word... Eucharisteo... like a braid of three cords...

Grace - that which God gives us.
Thanksgiving - that which we can offer back to Him.
Joy - that which can be found in the midst of thankfulness.

And isn't that PRECISELY what Jesus did before He endured the cross?

He "took the bread and gave THANKS."

He gave thanks.

And still... even still... knowing what sort of pain and suffering He would endure... He shared a meal with his beloved disciples and gave thanks.

I find these words breathtaking.

But it's what Jesus came to do. He came to save mankind from their own sin and suffering. He endured the pain that should have been for you and for me. He erased the debt. He went to the cross doing what? Giving thanks.

It was in pure gratitude that He became the least to become the greatest story ever told.

And doesn't God expect the same from me?

Jesus offered thanksgiving for even that which would break Him and crush Him and wound Him and yet yield a bounty of Joy. So that you and I can experience the life filled with joy which is found on the mountain of gratitude.

Gratitude, I believe, can save us from all the pain this world has to offer. And we have REAL pains. REAL problems. REAL sickness and disease and suffering.

Gratitude, according to Psalm 50:23 is directly linked to our salvation...  

"He who sacrifices thank offerings honors me, and he prepares the way so that I may show him the salvation of God."

And isn't that it? Isn't expressing gratitude often times a sacrifice?

It has at times been for me.

You see - God doesn't promise us days without rain. He doesn't promise us a life without pain. But when we can take the pain, the suffering, the ugly in this world and turn it in to praise before a Father who's grace is freely given, He can use it and make it something beautiful.

Phil 4:11-12,  

"I have learned how to be content with whatever I have. I know how to live on almost nothing or with everything. I have learned the secret of living in every situation, whether it is with a full stomach or empty, with plenty or little."

It was Martin Luther King Jr. that said, "If you want to change the world, you've got to pick up a pen."


"Life change comes when we receive life with thanks and ask for nothing to change."

"God wants our questioning of Him to be smaller and or desire for Him to be bigger."

We were created by God - for God. To bring honor and glory to Him. Period. That's it. Why are we so trying to complicate it? Everything we do should bring honor and glory to Him. And how can we do that when we're questioning His goodness? I am reminded of a song that really got me through some rough days a coupe years ago. Maybe you've heard it - it's called Blessings by Laura Story. Here's a portion of those lyrics...

"We pray for blessings. We pray for peace. Comfort for families, protection while we sleep. We pray for healing, for prosperity. We pray for Your mighty hand to ease our suffering. We pray for wisdom, your voice to hear. We cry in anger when we cannot feel you near. We doubt your goodness, we doubt your love. As if every promise from your word was not enough. But what if your blessings come through raindrops, what if your healing comes through tears? What if a thousand sleepless nights are what it takes to know your here? And what if trials of this life - are your mercies in disguise?"

When we fail to give thanks... when we fail to extend gratitude - we are basically saying we doubt God's goodness and we don't believe in His sovereignty.

You see I have been abundantly blessed in this life.

I've been blessed by parents who adore me.
Blessed by a wonderful husband whom I don't deserve.
Blessed by a daughter who is smart and respectable and who loves the Lord.
I have a nice house, have had some wonderful jobs, great friends, wise mentors, good health, reliable transportation, and a deep relationship with my Heavenly Father.

Thanksgiving is the evidence of our acceptance of whatever He gives.

Whatever He chooses to give.

Eucharisteo... the Greek word with the hard meaning.

I don't want to live in the darkness. I long to live in the light. I long to find the joy that Christ died on a cross for me to have. And so I must learn to accept every gift He gives and receive it with gratitude in my heart and thanksgiving on my lips.

And so my gratitude project continues. And I realize it's not just about keeping a list. It's about making thanksgiving a habit in my daily living. In order to honor Him I must learn how to be thankful with everything and in everything. And so I press forward in my fight for joy. Because pleasing the Father is what is most important... to me! It's the discipline this weary soul needs because though the world is ugly, it is beautiful. And I can slow and I can trust and I can receive each moment as a gift. Eucharisteo. Eucharisteo. Eucharisteo.

And again I read... "Life change comes when we receive life with thanks and ask for nothing to change."

My list continues. Those things I am thankful for? I'm past 1,000 now in my journaling. Still practicing. Still building the discipline that will draw me closer to my Creator.

# 604 Smiles from strangers
# 618 Wind through my hair
# 638 Early morning quiet times with God
# 692 A full tank of gas
# 699 Lazy Sunday afternoons
# 711 A cracked pitcher
# 723 Good... no great doctors
# 740 A husband's restoration of health
# 749 God's mercy
# 754 Second chances
# 805 Good friends

I choose gratitude. Habakkuk 3:18 says, "I will take joy." And I believe it starts with a heart of gratitude.

I choose gratitude. Will you?

JOIN me back here every Monday as I continue the Gratitude Journey.

Finding JOY in the JOurneY,