"Every good and perfect gift is from above"
James 1:17
Are you a thank-you note writer? It's kind of a dying art, I think. When I was growing up, we weren't allowed to read it, eat it, or play with it until we had written a thank-you note for it.
Nowadays, thank-you notes that are sent, are just as likely to be in the form of email or text messages, as they are flowery cards or stationery. I've even seem some clever cards for wedding or baby shower gifts, that are made from photos. It's fun to be able to do something creative with what can seem like a chore.
But of course, thank-you notes are often not sent at all. We're all busier than we used to be, and it's the kind of thing that gets lost as we work through our to-do list.
Well the other day, someone very dear to me did something very nice for me. They sent me a gift, and a sweet card. It's not my birthday, it's not Christmas. I guess they were just thinking of me. But the thing is, I have no idea who this very dear person is. The gift came without a return address, and the card came without a signature. I was so touched, and because it was unexpected, I had the urge to sit right down at the computer and shoot off an email to my thoughtful friend, but of course I couldn't. I felt so... sort of... helpless. I even feel guilty for not thanking someone for giving me a gift. My mother never would have let me get away with that when I was a kid! :)
But what can I do? I can say it here, not knowing if the friend is someone who reads this. I can maybe share with a few people ~ at church or at Bible Study ~ that something exciting happened to me, hoping that it will get back to them how grateful I am. But it seems a little self-involved to have that conversation out of the blue with people: "Hey, guess what happened to me!"
I realized, soon after opening the gift, that He is the obvious place to direct my thanks. He is the One who prompted the gift. He is, after all, the source of all blessings, even those that come via human hands. The card, though not signed, spoke of prayer, so I know the sender communicates with Him, and I communicate with Him, so I know He'll transmit the love from me to her {I'm just guessing it's a "her"} just as He has shared her (?) love with me.
Though it's a lesson I've been taught many, many times before, I'm reminded that I don't thank Him enough. Don't get me wrong: I thank Him for things every day. But no matter how much we thank Him, we aren't thanking Him enough, don't you think?
For sunrise and sunset... for clouds and rainbows... for mountains and beaches...
For toilets and appliances and cars that work...
For home and health and family and friends and pets...
For groceries and furniture and gas money and screens and dryer sheets and shoes and computers and electricity and first-responders...
And for anonymous gifts...
* Thank you, Lord *
~ "In everything give thanks,
for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus, for you" ~
1 Thessalonians 5:18
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