“You looked so happy,” Fred said Friday night after the book launch. We were sitting in front of a crackling fire with a glass of wine.
I was happy. We had a good turn out of people excited about Seed Cracked Open. I read portions of the book that made them laugh and feel a tear or two.
“You cover a lot of different topics in your book–prayer, listening to our emotions and our bodies, caring for the earth and the poor. Is there a central theme in all of these?” asked Joy Borthwick, my excellent interviewer.
“Yes, that God loves us and is present in all we do, leading and opening us to what to do next and how to do it. In it all, God transforms the world and frees us to be who we were created to be.”
I loved being able to talk about God’s love and was grateful that I got to be a part of God loving all my readers.
That was Friday night. Gratitude spilled over all weekend. On Saturday, I attended a workshop with others from St. Stephen’s. At lunch, a fellow in our church I hardly knew shared about what was going on in his life right now. He seemed to materialize before my eyes. I was grateful to get to know him and that he shared so honestly and vulnerably.
That night was a family games night at St.Stephen’s. Three generations of Hizsas were there eating pizza and playing Exploding Kittens and Buzz Word Junior. When it was all done, we got in the car to go home and the engine light came on. The black car, as Hadrian calls it, was not happy. Fred babied her home. I was thankful this didn’t happen when I was on my way to Abbotsford for Living from the Heart or while travelling to the Sunshine Coast with my sister. I was grateful too for Fred who saved the day again. He was able to diagnose and fix the black car and not miss his Tuesday morning date with our daughter.
I love the way God takes care of us, shows us how amazing each person is, and is invested in us becoming ourselves. I love that God trusts that who we are is enough–enough to do all that needs to be done in this world. We are being “filled to the measure of all the fullness of God,” and that makes me grateful.
There is no closer bond than the one that gratefulness celebrates,
the bond between giver and thanksgiver.
–Brother David Steindl-Rast
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Brother David Steindl-Rast is a Benedictine monk and the founder and senior advisor for A Network for Grateful Living. His books include Gratefulness, A Listening Heart, and a new autobiography, i am through you so i. Krista Tippet interviewed Brother David for On Being. An Anatomy of Gratitude.
What love mischief are you and God doing for the world?
Let me know and I will include it in an upcoming post.
