I have been reading this book, "1000 Gifts" by Ann Voskamp (great book! do yourself a favor and go get it! she is such a beautiful, eloquent writer-the type of writer where you just get lost in the imagery of her words). The book is about thanksgiving, "eucharisto," and how we can meet God in every moment of our days when we seek the beauty of His gift in that moment with a heart overflowing in thanksgiving, and in the midst of this thanksgiving, slowing the current of time as we reach out to our God who is bound by no limits/no constraints, a God to whom time is irrelevant.
Inspired by Ann (yes, we are on a first name basis or in my mind we are), I have been attempting to do this, this "study" or awakening to His gifts through my own outpouring of thanksgiving. Key word: Attempting. Much of the time, I have been saying them out loud, letting them sink in, feeling them warm my soul.
And, since I have been enjoying it so much, I wanted my kids to experience something similar. They have been throwing in their thanksgivings at times when I speak mine aloud, but I also thought it was a brilliant idea to cultivate a thankful spirit/ combat their level of whininess for me to ask them to tell me something they are thankful for whenever I heard them whine/ complain. This had been all well in good the past week until this morning when all the forces of whininess/ complaining/ tantrum came to the forefront over the breakfast table. Here I was asking them to tell me something they were thankful for, and all I could think was, "It is way to early for this, I haven't had my coffee, I am going to pull all my hair out, or my brain might explode." How self-righteous is that! Here I was trying to teach my children one thing, and I wasn't getting down in the dirt of that moment doing it along with them-thanksgiving, "eucharisto," in NO MATTER WHAT THE MOMENT HOLDS!
So, I have decided to combat the whininess battle, that is my own whininess, with a list of ten reasons why I am thankful for my childrens' whining:
1-I am blessed to have three children, three children I prayed for, three children I can't get enough of, and if they are whining/ falling out in a tantrum, they are breathing and alive.
2-Not only are they alive, but they also must be very strong considering the sound decibels their voices create. I am thankful for their strength, health, and their voice.
3-There is noise in my house. I am thankful for that noise, and I will miss that noise one day.
4-That noise sounds like a symphony to our God. I am thankful that we have a God that is bound by no limits, that is so omniscient, omnipotent, and loving He is able to listen to all the noises throughout the earth at the same time, reading every thought and be completely full, open for each person in their moment, not just a piece of Him, ALL of Him, FULL.
5-I am thankful that my own kids are further along then I am in the whininess battle, judging from my nickname being "the whiner" as I was affectionately called by my brother and my dad in my younger years.
6-I am thankful that even though I am obviously not meeting all my kids needs or else there would be no whining/ tantrums, God has a perfect plan for them/ me and will always meet our real needs when we ask.
7-I am thankful for the humility it brings me and God's grace for that moment, for the cross we can go to.
8-I am thankful that so often when one of my children is upset the others are trying to comfort him/ her. I am thankful for sibling love, for the recognition of that bond in these moments, and how God uses these moments to make that bond that much tighter and stronger between them. Water has the ability to make rope knots tighter; my children's tears can somehow make their bond that much tighter.
9-I am thankful that Bruce's red curls seem to get that much curlier and tighter when the anger of a tantrum appears, and oh, how I really just love his hair!
10-And, most importantly I am thankful that the moment does pass!! and, so often it passes just as quickly as it appeared. I am thankful for the amazing range of moments we are given, how no two are alike, and how all of our moments in all their intricacies and feelings are somehow beautifully woven together. Our God is an Awesome God!
**I am adding this quote from Voskamp that I read earlier this morning (two days after I wrote this blog) "The parent must always self-parent first, self-preach, because who can bring peace unless they've held their own peace? Christ incarnated in the parent is the only hope of incarnating Christ in the child..."
And, then she quotes Caussade,
"You would be very ashamed if you knew what the experiences you call setbacks, upheavels, pointless disturbances, and tedious annoyances really are. You would realize that your complaints about them are nothing more nor less than blasphemies-though that never occurs to you. Nothing happens to you except by the will of God, and yet (God's) beloved children curse it because they do not know what it is."
POINT TAKEN!
