Ann Voskamp, One Thousand Gifts & The Place of Suffering

A few days ago I went to the Kalamazoo Public Library and picked up Ann Voskamp's One Thousand Gifts. (That's her photo above this post).  The subtitle reads "A dare to live fully right where you are."

I'm about half-way through this very well written and extremely thought provoking book.

Here's something she wrote on page 58: "Why would the world need more anger, more outrage? How does it save the world to reject unabashed joy when it is joy that saves us? Rejecting joy to stand in solidarity with the suffering doesn't rescue the suffering. The converse does. The brave who focus on all-things good and all things beautiful and all things true, even in the small, who give thanks for it and discover joy even in the here and now, they are the change agents who bring fullest Light to all the world."

She goes on: "When we lay the soil of our hard lives open to the rain of grace and let joy penetrate our cracked and dry open places, let joy soak into our broken skin and deep crevices, life grows. How can this not be the best thing for the world? For us?"

This morning I was sitting on my little deck, admiring the evergreen tree that was transplanted near the herb garden. I found it one spring in the front yard flower bed. It had grown up from a pinecone seed, probably planted by a squirrel. For some reason I thought it was such a remarkable thing. A small miracle in the vast scheme of things, but a miracle nonetheless. I was so thankful to find it!

So a few years after finding the accidental evergreen, I transplanted it to a spot with more and even sunlight. Now, that same tree is as tall as I am (just an inch or two over five feet) and it's beautiful and full of life.

I've often looked out the dining room window at that evergreen and almost without exception, every time I do, a smile comes to my face. Because I LOVE that tree! I love how it came to be, secretly planted in a very inconvenient spot. Probably planted there by another participant in life (the squirrel). How I stumbled upon it. How I transplanted it when it was just over twelve inches high, and how it's grown every year since.

That tree, a gift of nature, continues to bring joy. And I'm still thankful for it.

I like how Ann Voskamp makes the connection between being thankful and joy.

For more about Ann Voskamp and One Thousand Gifts, and to link to her blog, check out the link below.

Ann Voskamp