"When I am present, I meet I AM, the very presence of a present God" (A thousand Gifts 70)

"Joy and pain, they are but two arteries of the one heart that pumps through all those who don't numb themselves to really living."

I've had a tough struggle with understanding joy, God's joy. I think i confuse it a lot with happiness, the world's standard of happiness. Disneyland.

One thousand gifts has shown me a lot, but most of all that it's okay to grapple, and to be honest about it.

Towards the middle of the book, the author states a sobering thought.

"Eventually, 

I am guaranteed 

to lose

every earthly thing

I have 

ever

possessed" 

(Voskamp 84)





"Every step I take forward in my life is a loss of something in my life and I live the waiting: How and of what will I be emptied today?" (Voskamp 85)


So how do we live fully present to the joy and pain that life offers. Giving thanks. Living in the moment. A lot easier said then done.

Looking for daily graces to give daily praises. I never look hard enough, but I pray my eyes are continually opened and the light becomes more apparent.




Blessings.