“So what’s with the pictures of the dish rack?” he asks, clicking through a half-dozen photos on my camera.
Oh…right. Those. Photographs of the kitchen dish rack that sits on the counter next to the sink. “Well, the light just looked really pretty reflecting on the metal, so I took some pictures,” I explain to Brad, a bit sheepishly.
So now I’m taking pictures of the dish rack.
This is what keeping a gratitude list has done to me.
It’s opened my eyes, my ears, my senses. I see God everywhere – in the backyard, in the faces of strangers, even in the most utilitarian household items – afternoon light slanting across the coffee table, the warmth of a blanket pulled from the dryer, a dish rack on the kitchen counter. And I can’t help myself. I feel such joy, so immensely blessed in response, that I list these gifts in a wrinkled notebook, on pages stained with splashes of grape juice, spattered with dried droplets of minestrone soup. Sometimes, so moved am I by this joy, this gratitude, I grab my camera and snap pictures. Even when the object is a ridiculous dish rack.
I am, as Isaiah says, “overwhelmed with joy in the Lord my God!” (Isaiah 61:10)
It’s a little silly, isn’t it? I mean, who takes six photographs of a hard-water-corroded dish rack? And if you peek at my gratitude list, you’ll see other oddities as well: smell of snow in the air…my new chicken friend (don’t ask)…Hilma’s donut recipe…old man slowly riding bike…baby playing with the Ramen noodle package in the grocery store…laughing at our lizard shedding…
But maybe, maybe, it’s not silly at all.
Because usually we miss them, don’t we? We miss the blessings.
God bestows hundreds, thousands of blessings on us daily, weekly, monthly, and we miss them; they pass us by; we don’t take time to look. The listing, the snapping of that shutter? It’s worship – a rejoicing, a thanking, a praising in the moment, in the now. An acknowledgement that we “are a people the Lord has blessed.” (Isaiah 61:9)
The list, gift after gift spooling down the page, each item woven into the next, is a song of God’s love. And a song to God as well.
How do you take time to acknowledge and appreciate the many gifts from God?
With Ann and Laura {on Monday}
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i have to admit that i didn’t start my 1000 gifts on paper – just computer. and now i’m disappointed. not that i’m less grateful, but i wish i had the tangible, wrinkled, coffee-stained (oh, mine would be so coffee stained) notebook-in-the-kitchen….
Yup, lots of coffee on mine, too. And a little wine. 😉
I love the oddest items in y’all’s gratitude lists. They remind me of the small things 🙂
That’s what it’s all about — small appreciations lead to big gratitude.
I love this!
Oh, Michelle….I totally get it! I take pictures of everything, my camera and every other device I own are crammed with them. As always, so glad I stopped by. Lori
I’m always so glad you stopped by, too, Lori! Happy weekend to you…
You just made me laugh out loud! Taking pictures of dish racks means you notice and appreciate even the most mundane things. What a great way to live, though! If we don’t appreciate and take delight in the small, why would God confer the large to us? Thanks for this insight!
Seing God everywhere and in everything is NOT silly. His wonder is all over and I love it your eyes are seeking and finding Him Keep paying attention – you never know where He will surprise you next!
I love this friend! Truly I do!!
It kind of made me giggle when Brad found the pictures of the dish rack and was like, “What the heck?!” But hey, embrace joy and gratitude right where you find it, right?
Seeing God in the ordinary is truly seeing God! Being aware and filled with gratitude for everything is the only way to live.
Inspiring post, Michelle!
Hi Michele
Thank you for introducing us to the beautiful play of colors on a dish rack. Yes, dear one, our lives are filled with wonder anf beauty amidst all the heartache and ugliness. I can just imagine how this world must have looked liked before sin entered its beauty.
Much love XX
Mia
I love that verse from Isaiah…it makes me imagine God feels the way I do when I see my kids really enjoying themselves!
Hi Michelle…So nice to ‘read’ you again after the Christmas break. I bought Ann’s book last year and began keeping my own Gratitude List. Just so happens I reached ‘1000 Gifts’ right on New Year’s Eve, which I thought was so appropriate. Now I’m continuing on and am already at 1030!!! I don’t take photos of things, yet find myself wishing for my camera when I’m out and about—so many gorgeous winter scenes out there right no!. But, at least I’m noticing the glory around me, which is more than I used to do.
Wishing you and yours a Blessed New Year.
No. Not silly at all.
Ah yes. The camera snapping. I sit in restaurants and take pictures of light reflecting on chair slats, liquid pooled in glasses, feet and hands. My family laughs at me. Let them. I’ll take pictures of that, too. 🙂
I’m disobeying you. I want to hear about your new chicken friend.