By Ann Voskamp
Eucharist [thanksgiving] is the state of the perfect man.
Eucharist is the life of paradise. Eucharist is the
only full and real response of man to God’s creation,
redemption, and gift of heaven.
Alexander Schmemann
The face of Jesus flashes. Jesus, the God-Man with His own termination date. Jesus, the God-Man who came to save me from prisons of fear and guilt and depression and sadness. With an expiration of less than twelve hours, what does Jesus count as all most important?
“And he took bread, gave thanks and broke it, and gave it to them . . .” (Luke 22:19 NIV).
This. I live in this place, make porridge, scrub toilets, do laundry, and for days, weeks, I am brave and I do get out of bed and I think on this. I study this, the full life, the being fully ready for the end. I start to think that maybe there is a way out of nightmares to dreams? Maybe?
I thumb, run my finger across the pages of the heavy and thick books bound. I read it slowly. In the original language, “he gave thanks” reads “eucharisteo.”
I underline it on the page. Can it lay a sure foundation under a life? Offer the fullest life?
The root word of eucharisteo is charis, meaning “grace.” Jesus took the bread and saw it as grace and gave thanks. He took the bread and knew it to be gift and gave thanks.
But there is more, and I read it. Eucharisteo, thanksgiving, envelopes the Greek word for grace, charis. But it also holds its derivative, the Greek word chara, meaning “joy.” Joy.
Ah . . . yes. I might be needing me some of that. That might be what the quest for more is all about— that which Augustine claimed, “All have one end, which they strive to attain, namely, joy.”[1]
I breathe deep, like a sojourner finally coming home. That has always been the goal of the fullest life— joy. And my life knew exactly how elusive that slippery three-letter word, joy, can be. I think of it then again, that night of nightmares, the flailing, frantic, moon-eyed lunge for more. More what? And this was it; I could tell how my whole being responded to that one word. I longed for more life, for more holy joy.
That’s what I was struggling out of nightmares to reach, to seize. Joy. But where can I seize this holy grail of joy? I look back down to the page. Was this the clue to the quest of all most important? Deep chara joy is found only at the table of the euCHARisteo— the table of = thanksgiving. I sit there long . . . wondering . . . is it that simple?
Is the height of my chara joy dependent on the depths of my eucharisteo thanks?
So then as long as thanks is possible . . . I think this through. As long as thanks is possible, then joy is always possible. Joy is always possible. Whenever, meaning— now; wherever, meaning—here. The holy grail of joy is not in some exotic location or some emotional mountain peak experience. The joy wonder could be here! Here, in the messy, piercing ache of now, joy might be— unbelievably— possible! The only place we need see before we die is this place of seeing God, here and now. I whisper it out loud, let the tongue feel these sounds, the ear hear their truth.
Charis. Grace.
Eucharisteo. Thanksgiving.
Chara. Joy.
A triplet of stars, a constellation in the black.
A threefold cord that might hold a life? Offer a way up into the fullest life?
Grace, thanksgiving, joy. Eucharisteo.
A Greek word . . . that might make meaning of everything?
___
Adapted from One Thousand Gifts 10th Anniversary Edition by Ann Voskamp. Click here to learn more
about this book.
More than 1.5 million copies sold! In this beautiful tenth anniversary edition of her bestselling book, New York Times bestselling author Ann Voskamp invites you to embrace everyday blessings and embark on the transformative journey of chronicling God’s gifts.
How can you find joy in the midst of deadlines, debt, drama, and even the death of loved ones? What does the Christ-life really look like when your days are gritty, long, and sometimes even dark? How is God even here?
“It is in the dark that God is passing by . . . our lives shake not because God has abandoned but the exact opposite. God is passing by. God is in the tremors. Dark is the holiest ground, the glory passing by. In the blackest, God is closest, at work, forging His perfect and right will. Though it is black and we can’t see and our world seems to be free-falling and we feel utterly alone, Christ is most present to us…”
In One Thousand Gifts, Ann Voskamp invites you to discover a way of seeing that opens your eyes to ordinary amazing grace, a way of living that is fully alive, and a way of becoming present to God that brings deep and lasting joy. It’s only in the expression of gratitude for the life we already have, we discover the life we’ve always wanted . . . a life we can take, give thanks for, and break for others. Come to feel and know the impossible right down in your bones: you are wildly loved by God.
A new introduction and ribbon marker enhances this beautiful tenth anniversary edition. As Ann invites you into her own beautiful, heart-aching moments of amazing grace, she gently teaches you how to:
- Biblically lament loss and turn pain into poetry
- Intentionally embrace a lifestyle of radical gratitude
- Slow down and catch God in the moment
Not a book merely to read, One Thousand Gifts is an invitation to engage with truths that will serve up the depths of God’s joy and transform your life forever. Leave pride, fear, and control behind, and abandon yourself to the God who overflows your cup.
Ann Voskamp is the wife of a farmer, mama to seven, and the author of the New York Times bestsellers The Broken Way, The Greatest Gift, Unwrapping the Greatest Gift, and the sixty-week New York Times bestseller One Thousand Gifts: A Dare to Live Fully Right Where You Are, which has sold more than 1.5 million copies and has been translated into more than twenty languages.
Named by Christianity Today as one of fifty women most shaping culture and the church today, Ann knows unspoken broken, big country skies, and an intimacy with God that touches tender places. Cofounder of ShowUpNow.com, Ann is a passionate advocate for the marginalized and oppressed around the globe, partnering with Mercy House Global, Compassion International, and artisans around the world through her fair trade community, Grace Crafted Home. She and her husband took a leap of faith to restore a 125-year-old stone church into The Village Table—a place where everyone has a seat and belongs. Join the journey at www.annvoskamp.com or instagram/annvoskamp.
One Thousand Gifts is published by HarperCollins Christian Publishing, Inc., the parent company of Bible Gateway.
[1] Augustine, Confessions of Saint Augustine, book 10, chapter 21, Christian Classics Ethereal Library, accessed April 20, 2010, http://www.ccel.org/ccel/augustine/confess.xi.xxi.html).
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