A visit to Goodwill and a theological wrestling match....

“Eucharisteo—thanksgiving—always precedes the miracle.” ― Ann Voskamp, One Thousand Gifts: A Dare to Live Fully Right Where You Are

Eucharisteo–Greek.  yoo-khar-is-teh’-o. Verb. Definition: 1.To be grateful, to feel thankful. 2. Give thanks

I was privileged to sleep until 7:30 am, which rarely ever happens anymore.  My usual time for arising in the morning typically is 04:00 which gives me an hour of quiet time, forty-five minutes for cardio at the gym and time for showering before I begin my day at the place where i earn my living at 7:15ish.

I was thankful for the extra hours of rest on a drizzly Sunday morning.

When I opened the door, the call to worship began.  Birds in a distance sang a song I had not heard before and other sounds of the living mixed in with their hymn of adoration.  I felt myself smile at the wonder of the sanctuary already at work.

I've been thinking alot about the season.  The season of living in the state of thanksgiving and what it means to be thankful for what I have---health, food, home, family, friends, work.....so much but yet so many times I find myself grumpy and going through the motions rather than actually absorbing the wonder of my own life.  I'm trying to do better and it was just this week that I learned about the word listed above----Eucharisteo. 

Is such a state of living possible?

I've been thinking alot today about the disparity between the haves and the have nots.....

Yesterday---off color daughter and I did something I've never done before---we spent the afternoon visiting and shopping at local Goodwill's.  I have a bit of OCD and going into such a place requires alot of energy from me.

I'd been reading alot of blogs lately that talked about all these refurbishing ideas....also since I've lost weight...the "girls" at my place of employment keep telling me I need new scrubs--I didn't want to invest in new ones because i hope to lose a bit more weight, so I thought the "Goodwill" just might do.

Off Color daughter bought several sweaters and a couple of shirts to appease her eclectic taste (one was for what she calls==tacky sweater day==it is bright pink with all kinds of glittery sequins all over in a "beautiful" design---we had laughed about it but when we were checking out an older woman said, "oh that's a beautiful sweater."  My eyes just about popped out of my head and off color daughter and I had a great laugh on the way to the car.) 

I did find several new pairs of scrubs at the tune of $5/set which was quite the savings.  Once we were home--I immediately put everything in the washing machine on hot in case there were any germs or worse we'd carried into our home.  Two pair of my scrub pants turned out to be too small---Can you believe it?  The Goodwill takes returns---but be sure to keep your receipt.  I can't believe I actually bought something from Goodwill--better yet returned something.  Exposure therapy for OCD must work---touch her face, touch her eyes---(lines taken from the OCD project). 

I watch people alot.  There were people who seemed to follow us from one Goodwill to the next. I listened to them---some were buying things to paint and decorate their home with and others were buying clothes for friends...

there were people buying furniture and several different languages going on all at the same time.....quite the cultural experience.

On the way home from one of the last Goodwill's we visited, i glanced out the corner of my eye.  Standing on the corner of the intersection stood a woman about my age.  She was dressed in sweatshirt and jeans and was holding a sign...."Please help me have a happy holiday for my children".  She was drinking a coke from McDonald's, standing there facing the traffic.

I felt the skeptic in me pop out---and though I usually am a fighter for the underdog---I felt myself question what the purpose of the woman standing there really was about.....was she just scamming money or was she really a woman willing to do whatever she needed to do to help her children have a good holiday season.  I was in the turning lane and passed her just as quickly as I saw her.

Later last night, I woke up and was reading a blog from a feminist theology site.  The minister writing the blog talked about the time she saw a homeless woman on the side of the road holding a sign.  I started thinking about the woman standing in front of the RED ROBIN with her sign.  She haunted me.

I wondered about her story and about the journey that brought her there at that moment on that corner of the street.  i wondered about her family, her children, her life.  I wished we were in a world where the disparity between the haves and havenots did not exist---but it does and I felt myself offer a prayer of hope to the Universe on behalf of the woman who caught my eye.

This morning following my call to worship, I went to the gym, which has recently become my place for worshipping on Sunday morning.  This morning,  while on the elliptical I listened to several podcasts.  Today, I listened to preacher, Susan Sparks, from Madison Avenue Baptist Church in New York.  Susan is a liberal, educated, ex-lawyer, stand up comedian who delivers a sermon like none I've heard.   Today, in one of her sermons, she spoke of visiting Union Square farmer's market.  She said, "There was the smell of fresh bread from a local bakery drifting through the air.  I followed the smell....It led me to a table covered in loaves of bread, cakes and danish....I stood there and I watched....watched people pass, when suddenly I saw a homeless gentleman pushing his shopping cart.  He stopped in front of the table and stood for a moment.  Next thing I knew, I saw a clerk behind the table, get a large brown bag and fill it up with all kinds of items.  He then moved around the table and approached the homeless man and handed him the bag.  The homeless man nodded and took the bag and disappeared into the lively crowd and I stood there saying to myself----i just saw an angel on the corner." (paraphrased from my memory).

Eucharisteo----what does living in this state look like?

Does a woman worrying about her family's  next meal,  experience it?

Does a homeless man understand it?

Can those of us privileged learn to live into it?

Can we give up a bit of it---a bit of the wealth---to even the playing field--

can we share so that all can experience life in a better way?

I don't have the answers...

to the hard questions of the Universe..

but

on this rainy Sunday evening...

I send a prayer into the Galaxy on behalf of

mothers and fathers who struggle to feed their children,

for those with no roof over their head,

for those with no bread to eat....

and

as I do...

it reminds me..

to offer a prayer of thanksgiving

for

a day filled with unsettling reflection

on the disparity in the world

for food

for a warm shower

for

goodwill experiences with off color daughter

and

new freshly washed used scrubs.

May all of you reading tonight,

take a moment

to find and experience a bit of that new word I learned...

Eucharisteo....

and live in a state of Thanksgiving....

blessings and hugs...