Natural Charis

I google “holiday blues” frantically two days before Thanksgiving, because, well, I have the holiday blues. Antidote: gratitude and anti-perfection. And it works. I remember what I’m thankful for. I hope for a pleasant holiday instead of a great one. Twitter, blogs and magazines are abuzz with people giving thanks. What an awesome trend, people all over the place giving thanks instead of stomping their feet and saying, “I want!” Life’s little things becoming more important than life’s little dramas. Wounds healed, insults forgotten, blessings remembered.

It pales in comparison to my daughter-in-law’s post to her Facebook page.  

If there is anyone in town with no plans today and you would like, you are welcome to come to my house. We have room for more.

Understand, this is a woman with 547 Facebook friends.

And everyone who knows them also knows she means it. If you have no plans, join us. We always have room.

I’m humbled. I like to think I’m generous when it comes to high school fundraisers and Salvation Army. Yet that’s not something that would have occurred to me, especially if my Facebook was packed with people from around the world met at tournaments and school. As much as it wouldn’t occur to me, it was natural to her.

There’s a word, charis, that appears in the Bible’s original text. One of its meanings is giving generously, expecting nothing in return. When I’m deep in prayer, I feel charis, because I know it all belongs to God, anyway. When I’m not in that deep prayer state, I work at cultivating it.

Apparently, I have a long way to go.

But I’m blessed for having people in my life who show me what it’s about along the way.

Love you all, blessings on you all,
Jennie