Common Things

So after our brief digression for Ten on the Tenth, I want to get back to the "One Thousand Gifts" book by Ann Voskamp. Prior to finding the link to her article on Facebook, I had never heard of her. After reading her book, though, I almost feel like I know her. When she was a child, her younger sister, Aimee, was killed before her eyes, run over by a delivery truck on their farm. She grew up in a home filled with ambivalence (if not animosity) toward God, and completely devoid of joy. She came to know the Lord as her Savior later in her life. She is now a farmer's wife in Ontario, a homeschooling mother of six.

One night she dreams that she's been diagnosed with terminal cancer, and has only a short time to live. When she awakens, she realizes how much she really, really wants to live. She also realizes how really, really inevitable her death is. She begins to think about all the things she's never going to get to do with her life..."scaling the summit of emerald Machu Picchu", "witnessing the dance of gazelles migrating up by the millions from the Serengeti", or "swimming the sapphire waters of some South Pacific Grotto." And she questions why it is that we seem to feel compelled to accomplish certain things or visit certain places before we die. Could it be that there is beauty and wonder in the common things we see every day?

Not too long ago, I wrote a post about Hannah's bucket list, or rather, her lack of one. I think she had discovered the truth that Ann was talking about in her book. That God has surrounded us right where we are with more love and beauty than we can possibly take in in a lifetime. Good thing we've got eternity, huh? Our eyes just have to be open to see it. More about that in a future post...

In the meantime, my list continues...

1000 Things That Bring Me Joy (continued)

#36 Bath & Body Works hand soap
#37 Stepping in puddles on purpose
#38 Mail in the mailbox
#39 The Bible app on my iPhone
#40 The sound of rain on the roof
#41 Crystal Light packets (you know, the kind you add to water bottles)
#42 Bath & Body Works body spray
#43 The sight of horses grazing in a field
#44 A sky full of stars on a clear night
#45 Beth Moore Bible studies
#46 Deer in our yard at night
#47 My new necklaces from The Vintage Pearl
#48 Meeting with the While We're Waiting Weekend leadership team
#49 Reading in bed
#50 72 degree days
#51 Buds on the trees
#52 The anticipation of spring
#53 Bright yellow forsythias
#54 Reading good news on kids' Caring Bridge sites
#55 A 2 hour nap on a Saturday afternoon
#56 Finishing our tax returns and getting a refund
#57 The sound of handbells
#58 Rainy mornings when I don't have to go anywhere
#59 Watching birds on the feeder outside Hannah's window
#60 Sunshine after 3 dark, cold, cloudy days!