hammer.

It happens so fast.

I never get a warning. 

There is never a count down. 

I don't even get a chance to dip my toes in to feel how cold it is going to be- it's just a jolting push from behind and suddenly I am falling into discontent. Before I know it the melancholy is surrounding me and all I want is to catch my breath. 

It hasn't happened in a while. 

I've been trying to stay away from the edges (comparing myself to others, isolating myself, skipping the Sabbath), you know, so that I am less likely to fall. 

But this week has been kinda... cold and breathless. 

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My roommate recently challenged me to use my camera as a hammer "to drive out the nails of discontent." She is reading 1,000 Gifts, and the author, Ann Voskamp, is teaching her how to be thankful for the little things- how to see them all as gifts and to use those gifts to drive away discontent. 

I decided to take her up on the challenge.

Here are my first four gifts. 

Yugus. 

This boy. It seems fitting to start with him because he gets really, really excited about all of the little details of life. He helps me notice how amazing this world really is.

Yesterday my bike tire got punctured so Yugus, Saron, and I walked my bike up to the bike shop on the main road so that we could get the tire tube patched. Each time a big truck passed us, Yugus threw his arms into the air and exclaimed, "WOW! OHMYGOSH! THAT TRUCK IS SOOOO BIG!" After he did that for the third time it finally hit me: giant trucks that move really fast are actually pretty amazing.

I am thankful to live in a culture where polka-dot pants, flowered tops, and sparkly bracelets are completely stylish. Especially when you wear them together. 

For when the sounds of the chickens are too early and the sounds of Nepali verbs are too many, I am thankful for green moss and brown instant coffee. Side by side.

I am thankful for Iesma and her mom. I am thankful that I can hang out with them and not feel like a foreigner. Even when I have white skin and carry a giant "hammer," they are starting to feel like friends. 

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I am finding that thankfulness really does drive out the discontent. 

What are you thankful for today?