My then-3-year-old grandson ripped open the Christmas gift from his little friend. The other boy and his mama stood by in smiling anticipation of Blaine’s response. Blaine’s bottom lip slipped into pouty-protrusion mode. “This isn’t what I wanted,” he said, handing the unappreciated gift back to its giver.
Gratitude. Throughout this Christmas season, we’re supposed to be grateful for our blessings, especially the amazing gift of God’s Son in the form of a babe in a manger. And we are. For maybe 10 minutes every day. But what about the other 1,430 minutes?
Oh, c’mon — don’t deny that you inwardly cringe when you open those hideous socks. Or that you fight an impulse to flee out back and hide behind the philodendrons when your mother-in-law arrives. Or that you resent hosting Christmas dinner yet again because lazy cousin Bertha won’t take a turn.
Yep, we all feel a bit like 3-year-olds at times. Unappreciative for our blessings.
But what if we wake up tomorrow with only the things we thanked God for today? Things would look a little differently, wouldn’t they?
Warm socks would become a treasure on cold nights, a comfort many people lack. The mother of your spouse produced that person you loved enough to marry. If she wasn’t here, your spouse wouldn’t be either. And all that food threatening to collapse your table is a privilege not enjoyed by more than half the world.
It’s all in the way we look at it, isn’t it? Like a selfish 3-year-old. Or like the humble recipient of good and perfect gifts from our heavenly Father.
Wishing you and yours a blessed and gratitude-filled celebration of the birth of our Savior!
