Whatever is good and perfect is a gift coming down to us from God our Father, who created all the lights in the heavens. He never changes or casts a shifting shadow. - James 1:17
I grew up in a home where we wrote thank you notes. For every birthday or Christmas gift received or anyone’s act of great kindness toward me, I was tasked with writing words of appreciation on a notecard, addressing an envelope complete with postage, and mailing it off to the generous giver. At the time, this felt like an enormous imposition in my childhood, preferring instead to be playing outside or riding my bike. But now I see that this simple act helped develop a sense of gratitude for the good things I was given. I learned that having someone consider me worthy of their time and effort (and sometimes their money) was more than enough to warrant my gratitude and thanks.
Certainly times have changed and people don’t communicate as often through the US postal service. But we now have emails and text messages. Thoughtfulness still merits our gratitude and every gift still deserves our thanks.
This is also true of the gifts we receive from our heavenly Father. Our life is brimming with them—even when we’re going through tough times. Every single blessing has been personally gift-wrapped for us by God—perfectly placed in our life for our enjoyment. The air we breathe. The sunsets we see. The people that care about us. All gifts from God—all worthy of our appreciation. Don’t forget to give him thanks. No postage required.
ADDITIONAL THOUGHTS
This week, let’s challenge ourselves to start seeing the good things in our lives—really seeing them, gratefully. You might even want to start a gratitude journal and jot them down. But, at a minimum, don’t forget to mention them to God with a bounty of thanks.