Thankfulness begins with Looking

"The practice of giving thanks...eucharisteo...this is the way we practice the presence of God, stay present to His presence, and it is always a practice of the eyes. We don't have to change what we see. Only the way we see." --Ann Voskamp

I Need to see beauty every day.
I need to be fed by His Word every day or I will starve.
This is My daily manna.
We can't keep it still good from yesterday.
We need it fresh new.

I see Jesus in my children's faces.
Behold: His glory in each of their creations.

My curse? My poison?
Ingratitude.
Wanting to control what I cannot.
So I pursue harder, faster, but it eludes me.
Running, laughing and mocking just in front of me and I can never grasp it.
This may be a relationship with friends. This may be a relationship with my child. This may be a relationship with my husband. This may be material.
The poison of discontent spreads further and the depression deepens.

The remedy?
"How we behold determines if we hold joy.
Behold Glory and be held by God.
How we look determines how we live...if we live."

"Faith is the gaze of the soul."

"Looking comes first."--C.S Lewis
What are my inner eyes seeing?

Beholding: children searching for the last colored leaves in the grass.

"How my eyes see, perspective, is my key to enter into His gates.
I can only do so with Thanksgiving.
If my inner eyes has God seeping up through all things, then can't I give thanks for anything?"
Even strife? Conflict? Anger at a perceived injustice?

In order for me to help my children see, I must be able to show them How to see by learning this eucharisteo myself.
How do I walk a daily thankfulness myself?

Behold: Grandparents who love their grandchildren.

Behold: Hayrides on Thanksgiving Day

Behold: Cousins who live close and who love each other.

"If we don't intentionally commit to the hard practice of seeing, don't we die in barren wilderness? Anger, frustration, emptiness?"

The raw inner life of mine cuts like sharp hay poking through clothes designed to cover, protect.
Do I let worry, stress steal the joy from my life?
Do I let thanklessness and refusing to do the hard act of looking, steal the Joy He has purposed for my life?
Or, do I let the WORD; the Daily Manna clothe my heart and point me to Him.
"Give Thanks" He whispers.
"Do not let your heart be troubled. Trust in God; Trust also in me" (Jn. 14:1)

Behold: the magic of sun rays on a cool Thanksgiving afternoon.