Voskamp IV: Thankfulness

Ultimately, what Voskamp is saying is that all from God is a gift, all is good, and that thankfulness for everything is the core virtue, the key to all.  I cannot argue theoretically with that, but I can question it existentially.  She struggles, as do all Christian writers, with the problem of pain and suffering, the existence of the non-good, the evil.  We grapple with it the best we can, in the moment; I don't think we can store up faith and grace for the times we need it; it is a gift at the moment, when it's crucial for taking the next step.  This is walking in faith.

Job is invoked here; we see him sitting by a fire surrounded with pieces of clay pots (symbolic of the pieces of his life) and covered with sores.  Interesting that the Bible gives us a drama, with dialogue here, rather than a treatise, on suffering.