Thursday, December 13, 2012

Second Advent: Joy

When I decided to write about advent this season I thought I would feel more inspired than I do.  Sitting here this morning is more of an act discipline than of inspiration.  But I'm here, and yes, its Thursday--much closer to the third Sunday of advent than the second. But I'm here. Somehow I made it.

In church we lit the candle for love, in my liturgy I read about hope, and in my heart I lit the candle for Joy. 

I recently read a book (1000 Gifts by Ann Voskamp) that is teaching me to change my thinking.  It's about thankfulness. In response to the book I've set out making a list of 1000 things I'm thankful for.  Time is really important to me, thus my list has become a collection of moments.  Moments that I've been having for years, I was just never awake to them before.

But like every other person to walk this earth I still have moments filled with anxiety, worry and fear. For some reason the last week and half has felt fuller of the poison than of the grace.  And then yesterday, when my mind was going a million miles a minute listening to the lies, I hear His strong quiet voice whisper: "count with me, lets count" and so we begin: "I'm thankful for the droplets of rain on the trees, I'm thankful for fresh air, for coffee with extra shots in it, for that grumpy man who comes into my work who I crack a smile out of after some sarcastic banter..." and slowly the joy begins to build. And once again I'm cloaked in His grace. And the more I count the easier it gets and the truer His faithful love feels.

count with me, lets count....

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