One Thousand Gifts

Being in a hurry. Getting to the next thing without fully entering the thing in front of me. I cannot think of a single advantage I've ever gained from being in a hurry. But a thousand broken and missed things, tens of thousands, lie in the wake of all the rushing.... Through all that haste I thought I was making up time. It turns out I was throwing it away.
― Ann Voskamp, One Thousand Gifts: A Dare to Live Fully Right Where You Are

One Thousand Gifts is one of those life-changing books that you run across infrequently.  You know those kind of books; the ones that make you reread sections and marvel.   The books that you savor; the books that you never want to end.  One Thousand Gifts is that kind of book.

My church studied concepts in this book for a six week sermon series.  The bottom line?  Thankfulness in ALL things is a key to the close Christian walk.  The Bible is full of it, once you start to look.  Ann says it a lot better than I do, so I’ll leave it to her.

Ann’s blog is located at this link:

http://www.aholyexperience.com/

While thankfulness is her key topic, other gems are also to be found in her book - which brings me to the quote above.  I am always in a hurry...frustrated and in a hurry. However, when I view things from Ann’s (this Ann without an E) perspective, I realize that at least in my life, hurrying constantly is a sin that causes me to be sharp, sarcastic, and shrewish.

I’ve been making a intentional effort to slow down and take one thing at a time.  I need to pay attention during the journey, rather than focusing on the next goal, the next place to be, the next thing to worry about.  While hurrying, I miss one thousand beautiful gifts that the Lord wants to bless me with.  When I am successful, the things God shows me are truly amazing.