one thousand gifts // chapter four. | THE KLACKNERS

4.05.2013

one thousand gifts // chapter four.

time. i feel like i ran out of it this week and am rushed to write this. i read chapter four in my car, in an almost empty parking lot, on a lunch break. the sunroof open and the sound of cars flying by on the highway just over the hill. i was speed reading through trying to finish in the thirty minutes that i had when i was reminded to slow down. i stopped, closed my eyes, and listened to the wind float through the blossoming trees. gift #74.

it's the gifts in the middle of the craziness. little doses of joy throughout the day and week that add up to so much more.


"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 hurr. 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."
-page 65-

this week was just a good reminder to slow down in the midst of this whirlwind to appreciate the little things. to give them my full attention and to be fully present. "wherever you are, be all there." not worrying about tomorrow because tomorrow will worry about itself. i don't want my life to go by in a blur of busyness. i want to remember. all the joy, pain, laughter, and tears. every moment that made me grow and change.

"giving thanks for one thousand things is ultimately an invitation to slow time down with weight of full attention."
-page 69-

what about on the days when i feel like there isn't enough time? when i get caught back up in the busyness of this life? i'll remember that when jesus didn't have enough…enough bread, enough fish, enough strength to carry on…he gave thanks [eucharisteo] for what he did have and it became enough. so i will continue on this journey of gratitude believing that our world's view of "not enough" will be more than enough because of jesus' presence in my life.

life is not an emergency. so slow down and take it all in. the time you have been given is enough.


one thousand gifts. the whole list.
66. wind whistling through the chimes
67. dandelion dust dancing across the yard
68. easter sunday
69. sweet tea and lemons
70. clean dishes and soap suds
71. early evening walks with the puppy
72. target trips with the coworkers
73. the bff getting a new job
74. wind floating through blossoming branches
75. the sound and smell of a spring rain
76. game nights
77. new melodies



Amy said...

e.x.a.c.t.l.y. what i needed to read this morning. Seriously! <3
This sounds like a great book...one that hopefully i can dig into this summer (i have so many books to read!).
Thank you for sharing/adding your thoughts onto the quotes from the book...it helps to solidify how it is working in your life!

Elizabeth said...

new melodies.

that is a good one.