Tears for 1000 gifts

Those who know me best know that I am a voracious reader. I usually have several books going at once, a mix of fiction and non-fiction, Bible studies, magazines, and one or two blogs. I learn so much from reading and I find God treasures in each book that I read. In His ongoing work in my life, God has used books to strengthen me, encourage me, challenge me, and inspire me. Often, I will begin a book and find that it speaks directly to my current experience with the Holy Spirit. I started a book club just to be able to talk about all that I was learning and to share the beauty and treasure of books. But it is rare that a book leaves me speechless.

This past year, God has been teaching me to view all of my life through the lens of His sovereignty, trusting that He is good. I am walking out the difficult lesson of rejoicing in suffering. As an exclamation point in this journey, a friend gave me a book as a going away present. The book was Ann Voskamp's One Thousand Gifts.Very few books actually make me physically cry. This is one of them. Today I read the last page with tears streaming down my face because I knew what I had read was profound and true and beautiful. When I began the book many weeks ago, I had no idea that it would be a life-changing experience. I have told so many people about this book. Not only is the writing poetic and lyrical (it is like reading a piece of art), the truth is so deeply moving, the images so heart-wrenchingly written, that I often would finish a chapter, lay the book across my chest, and meditate on the beauty of what I had read letting it soak deep down into my soul.

This is not a book to be gobbled down in three nights. It is a book to be tenderly cherished page by page, soaking in the truth of grace and eucharisteo, a word that now permanently resides in my vocabulary and a word I new nothing about just two months ago.

I am a highlighter when I read. This book has more yellow than black and white. I am daily looking for His gifts. I am forever growing in gratitude and I am thankful this book has shifted my perspective to its rightful place, thanksgiving for everything. "God is good and all is grace."

Thank you God for words to express the beauty of who You are. Thank you for inspiring writers to bring truth to the page.