What are you thankful for?

What are you thankful for?  This is the question that was posed by the boys at Professional One a "boutique of awesome" or also known as one of the best real estate firms in the country run by Mike and Todd.

Ever since the question was asked I have been thinking about it.

This is a question we ask around our kitchen table as opposed to the generic "God is good, God is great..."

How can you answer such a question with any kind of authenticity and keep the post relatively brief?

When I think about what I am thankful for I am amazed at all that I really ought to be thankful for, but I'm not. I am not thankful, at least not usually.  I want to be one of those people that are constantly overwhelmed by gratitude.

I really do. But, I'm not.

Life is more complicated, it seems.

What am I thankful for?

I am thankful that there are people who are asking the question and forcing people like me to actually consider the question. I hear that question and the normal sorts of things that I ought to be thankful for pop into my head: friends, family, God, faith, love, relationships, provision, daily bread, grace, mercy, and the like.

My head tells me I am thankful for these things. My life tells me otherwise.

I don't think I'm alone.

To answer the question, I ask another: If our lives don't reflect gratitude are we really thankful?

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The Paradox

When you find out that most if not all of your preconceptions are misconceptions it leaves you reeling.  The first time I woke up in Israel I struggled to believe all that I was seeing.  I felt as though I had stepped foot out of the Matrix and into "The Real". There was nothing that was what I expected.  Not a single thing.

We boarded our bus and met Yaniv, our guide and soon to be our good friend. He took us to Caesarea by the Sea.  It was a confusing time as we left Tel Aviv and arrived at a place that was over 2,000 years old.  This is the kind of confusion that leaves you scratching your head and unsure of what you are seeing.

It turns out that Israel is a place of paradox.  You never can quite get your mind around it. It is a living and breathing postmodern experience.  What is new is old and what is oldest is often times new.

The ruins of Caesarea were like nothing that I had ever experienced.  They were almost unreal.  I felt like I had stepped into one of those coffee table books that you find at your great aunt's house and you start looking at because you can't touch anything else.

Only here you could touch.

Smell.

See.

Experience.

It was a round the winter of 1996 that I began to truly study the Scriptures with tenacity.  I was particularly drawn to the person and writings of Paul.  He was almost a mystical figure to me.

Until now.

I stood in the very place Paul did when he left for his journey to Rome.  I saw the place where he was held prisoner prior to leaving.

Paul has now become a very real person for me. He became very real in a place that is a living paradox of new and old.

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Preconceptions, Land Mines, and Explosions

Any time you visit a new country there are always preconceived ideas that you have coming in.  When I left for Israel I had a picture in mind of sand, mountains, and camels.  Of course I also had the thought of one or two surface to air missiles and maybe a suicide bomber.  I could tell that these were the same thoughts that some of my family had in mind too.  I think that is part of the reason why I didn't really get too excited about the trip, why it "slipped" my mind and why I did not talk about it much with those closest to me.  My preconceived ideas had laid a foundation of fear.

Then I arrived in Israel.

I saw it.

There was no filter, there were no reporters or editors choosing what to show me.

I saw it with my own eyes.

What did I see, you ask?

I saw Tel Aviv and modern bustling city filled with people.  There were kids on the beach singing and barbecuing. There were clubs thumping the bass so that you could feel it in your chest.  There was graffiti.  There were coffee shops and pubs. There were people jogging and riding bikes along the Mediterranean Sea.  I saw a five star hotel that was had everything you could imagine.

I didn't see a single camel.  The only sand I saw was on the beach of the Med.  I didn't see a gun or a missile or suicide bomber. There were some explosions later in the weekend, but it turns out that people like to shoot off fireworks after Shabbat is over!

It's a time to celebrate and party.

That first night in Israel I saw my preconceptions explode like an old land mine in the Golan Heights...

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The Greatest Love Story

[podcast]http://danielmrose.com/wp-content/uploads/Grace-101031-reduced.mp3[/podcast]

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