Purpose

How does one choose a title for a blog? I thought about entitling this blog something along the lines of REASONSTOLIVE or REASONSTOGIVE or REASONSTOLOVE, for my purpose in writing in this blog is to practice the art of identifying the endless moments in each day that make life mesmerizing.  Through this writing, I hope to learn the habit of thankfulness, which I believe is a learned trait, something that takes work.  1 Thessalonians 5:18 says to, "Give thanks in all circumstances, for this is God's will for you in Christ Jesus,".  I find that command daunting, knowing the ways I have forgotten to see the good but instead fixated on what is difficult about circumstances. In that mentality, I have experienced debilitation that follows discouragement, the struggle to rise.  Now I know more clearly than before the beauty, necessity, and strength of hope.  I heard on the radio once about a hospital that brought in drama specialists to lead games with children suffering from cancer.  The reason? Their chances of survival increased significantly when they had hope. What is hope and where do we find it?  There are millions of answers. Perhaps I'll explore some in this blog.  But a quote from The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King sums up to me what hope is:

“There, peeping among the cloud-wrack above a dark tower high up in the mountains, Sam saw a white star twinkle for a while. The beauty of it smote his heart, as he looked up out of the forsaken land, and hope returned to him. For like a shaft, clear and cold, the thought pierced him that in the end the Shadow was only a small and passing thing: there was light and high beauty for ever beyond its reach.”

This describes what I perceive as the most reliable hope that exists.  Light and high beauty for ever beyond the reach of pain in the fog. God is hope. It takes faith to believe in the hope that may be difficult to see, feel, experience, hear, discern. But just like the white star twinkling beyond the haze, there is hope glistening into our lives if only we take the time to recognize it. 

So instead of naming this blog, REASONSTOLIVE, which would have appropriately indicated the purpose of my writing, I decided to steal a phrase from a poem I wrote. The writer in me had to choose some abstract image of course.  Last spring, for Northwestern's poetry sequence, I wrote this:

I want to find where the sunset folds

and languages collide like colors

to make white.

Somehow there

everyone understands everyone.

Mothers, sons

fathers, daughters

sisters, sisters

just like music

when the melody makes people feel

the same sadness or joy

even when no one knows the words.

It may not be obvious, but the place I was referencing to is heaven, a place where we will be with God.  Colors contain so many words, memories, associations, colors, emotions, joys, hurts, hopes. When colors collide, well there's potential for many an image, moment, idea.  

I write in this blog, hopefully not to be self-indulgent, but instead to have a space to reflect. To find joy in writing, and when I'm writing for others to read I experience excitement and joy.  Many a friend has commented about how strange it is that I get so excited about the way words look on a page. I hope what I write may resonate with others. I hope that identifying things to be thankful about will start to transform me. And I hope that journey may offer encouragement to others seeking or struggling to give thanks in all circumstances.  

So to start off, Day 1:

Things to be thankful for

bluebird vibrant

ant carrying a piece of bark, crawling across my t-shirt

a high-school friend offering to listen, encouragement out of the blue

a best friend who understands, cares

dog, desperate for attention

finding the strength to be honest

crickets at night

snapchat : )

talking to my dad about a crazy experience on a white horse in China

singing praise music with other Christians

dancing in the street to Macklemore

the cashier at Stein Mart who said "God Bless You"