Friday, August 10, 2012

August 10

Today's dare is three hard eucharisteo.

Because I have yet to read Ann Voskamp's book One Thousand Gifts, I had to look up the word Eucharisteo (yoo-khar-is-teh’-o.). Just in case any of you are in the same boat, it is a Greek word that means... "1.To be grateful, to feel thankful. 2. Give thanks."

So today's dare is about giving thanks for hard things or my new working title, The Post that Gets Awkwardly Personal.

-I am an introvert. Sometimes that surprises people. I recharge on my own with a good book or an old episode of Friends or just sitting outside in the quiet listening to the birds (or most happily, the waves). I gladly meet new people and talk, laugh and joke with the best of them, but those deep real friendships, the ones that take time, are not as easy for me. When I have them, I want to hold on tight. This year some of those friends and family have moved away- to different states. I've had to fight the urge to pull back and hermit myself away, protected from feeling too deeply. Thankfully, God has shown me, gently, "No, that's not how it's going to work. You are going to keep loving, keep trusting, keep building, because that's what this life is about. Love." So, for those lessons, I'm thankful.


-Parenting. Whew, I love my boys. Whew, being consistent, loving, grace-filled can be exhausting and feel close to impossible some days. Thankful for the stretching and for God's grace when I mess up.

-Having to watch friends go through struggles. It's hard and sometimes there really is nothing I can do. I'm a doer and it's painful to just sit by. But, it sends me to my knees. That is something to be thankful for- the realization that that's where I should stay.
 

3 comments:

  1. Good post. As a fellow introvert, I can totally related to point number one. No matter how late it gets, at the end of each day I have to pull away for some down time. Like you, I'll watch an old episode of Friends or some other show I'm working my way through or I'll dive into the book I'm reading at the moment. I need the down time to recharge so I can connect with others.

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  2. I share a lot of your thoughts here. I am not a writer like you. And about becoming a hermit, you know I said that was my plan when I moved to FL. Thankfully, God had other plans and I have met some great people. They just aren't my coffee buddy like are. Miss you terribly.

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  3. Thank you both. :) And, Amy the fact that you called me a writer really made me smile. I don't see myself that way. It was nice to hear. :)

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