Learning Eucharisteo

Psalm 66:5, 16: “Come and see what God has done, how awesome his works on man’s behalf! Come and listen, all you who fear God; let me tell you what he has done for me.”

What a full few weeks it has been! Today marks day 19 since we left, and I can’t believe it’s only been that long. It seems that time always moves slower when you’re in a new environment, and that certainly has proved true here. We’ve spent the last few weeks getting settled and organized and working our way to a daily routine. It was difficult at first, with everything new and unfamiliar, with more rugged circumstances than we have at home. It was hard to not long for familiarity and comfort for the first few days.

            I also was sick for a few days last week, which was challenging because of being in an unfamiliar environment, and because I was unable to do anything and felt helpless. But as someone reminded me later, God always knows what we need, and He used the few days I was out of commission to really begin a work in my heart as I read and spent time talking to Him.

            I have been reading One Thousand Gifts by Ann Voskamp, and it has really impacted me. In the book, the author shares her life, her traumas and struggles, and describes the journey God took her on to begin to see Him and commune with Him more deeply. A friend challenged her to write down one thousand things that God has given as gifts, and as she began to record them, she began to really see the world around her. She calls it Eucharisteo, “to give thanks” – “the root word is charis, meaning grace…but it also holds its derivative, the Greek word chara, meaning ‘joy.’” Thanksgiving, grace, and joy, all wrapped up in one word. This is the challenge God has placed on me.

            As I laid in bed sick, reading about being thankful and having joy, I realized that I don’t want to think about things being more familiar or comfortable—that is not why I came here. I want to see God and I want to experience His grace and I want His joy – I want to be fully alive and fully here.

            I am not naturally bent toward gratefulness. I am selfish and I see the empty half of the glass more often than the full. But I am being drawn everyday to write down my thanks to God. From the breeze blowing through my window, to baby giggles, to redemption through Jesus Christ – I am challenged to see everything as his grace, and to thank him for it, and discover an incredible joy. And there is so much around me in this place to thank Him for! When you begin looking for things to be thankful for, it opens your eyes to see God everywhere, and to see all the grace He pours out on us in every moment – even the very hard is His grace whether we see it or not, because He is a good God in whom we can trust.

            I am just beginning this process. Most days I forget to be looking, or I forget to write anything down. And that’s okay. We’re all in process. But the little bit of joy I have experienced in attempting this experiment is what our souls are created for and it is addicting. I want to see more. More of God and more of joy. More of his grace in every moment.