A tragedy left a family with a void that nothing could fill. A toddler
chasing a cat wandered into the road and was run over by a delivery truck. A
4-year-old watched in shocked silence as her parents cradled the lifeless body
of her little sister. For years, the cold emptiness of that moment encased the
family in sadness. Feelings were frozen. The only comfort was numbness. Relief
was unimaginable.
Author Ann Voskamp was the 4-year-old, and the sorrow surrounding her
sister’s death formed her view of life and God. The world she grew up in had
little concept of grace. Joy was an idea that had no basis in reality.
As a young mother, Voskamp set out to discover the elusive thing the
Bible calls joy. The words for joy and grace come from the Greek word chairo, which
she found out is at the center of the Greek word for thanksgiving. Could
it be that simple? she wondered. To test her discovery, Voskamp
decided to give thanks for 1,000 gifts she already had. She started slowly
but soon gratefulness was flowing freely.
Just as Jesus gave thanks before, not after, raising Lazarus from the
dead (John 11:41), Voskamp discovered that giving thanks brought to life
feelings of joy that had died along with her sister. Joy comes from
thanksgiving.
The joy of living comes from a heart of thanksgiving. (RBC)
