Life is a Gift

I’m a deep thinker. I love to mull things over. I love to look at a problem from multiple sides. I love to contemplate big topics. This piece of my personality can be a hindrance – sometimes it either holds me back from making a decision or means that I easily let my mind race off in to completely unrealistic scenarios. Most of the time, however, I can truly put an idea in the back of my mind and let it cook – like a pot on simmer while the sauce thickens up and achieves “perfection.”

This week a friend of mine on Facebook (who is an Evangelical Christian) posted the following thought on his wall:

Ever watch a kid open a gift disgusted with getting clothes? Today is a gift. How will you react as it unfolds?

As soon as I read that my mind went wild – and I actually changed my post for today.

I got to thinking about the concept of Life being a Gift from God. A priest at the parish I used to belong to before I got married had a phrase “greet each day with Gratitude to God.” I’ve read several things about the idea of looking for the little blessings in life – stopping to smell the roses, if you will. I like to think that I’m generally a pretty positive person, but I sometimes struggle with selfishness and negativity.

I think that God understands that we have a tendency to be selfish from time to time. I think that just as a parent knows their child will disappoint from time to time, God knows that we’ll take our many gifts for granted.

“Take care, brothers, that none of you may have an evil and unfaithful heart, so as to forsake the living God.” ~ Hebrews 3:12 (NAB)

I don’t want to ever have an unfaithful heart because I have been given many blessings. I don’t ever want to fail to praise God for all that I have – even my struggles. A homily that I heard recently challenged me – do I want to be the type of Christian that is only on my knees in relationship with God when faith is being tested or am I a Christian that gives Glory to God in everything I do?

It’s easy to cry out when life is hard. It’s easy to dwell on unanswered prayers. A friend recently pointed Psalm 13 out to me as evidence that people have been crying out to God when troubles come for hundreds of generations. I could point to struggles in my life and say “Why me God?” or I could stop and look around and realize that God asks me to recognize the many gifts that I have been given. The Bible tells us

“all good giving and every perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father of lights, with whom there is no alteration or shadow caused by change.” ~ James 1:17 (NAB)

Do I view my life as a gift?

Do I focus more on what’s wrong in my life or what’s good and perfect? If someone were to ask me how I am do I tell them that I’m blessed and loved or do I tell them that I’m not sure how I’m going to make it through my day?

Do I moan about the rain on my travel day for work or do I rejoice because the rain is helping water the flowers that beautify my garden at home?

Do I thank God for my husband even when He’s getting on my nerves?

Back to my friend’s question on Facebook – haven’t we all given a gift to a friend or family member and gotten a less than favorable reaction? Do we stop and think about the reaction that we’re giving God about our life?

Another example, to help put it in perspective for anyone who might be thinking “ya, but what about _____?” My Grandmother was born in 1916, the ninth of eleven children. Her older sister, who was #3 in the birth order, was the sibling that she was closest with. My Grandmother was not only a “the glass is half empty” kind of person, but she’d go on and on talking about how whoever put the milk in the glass lied and said that it was half full, but she measured it and it was only 40% full so someone was cheating her out of milk. My great-aunt, by contrast, was one of the most positive people that ever walked the earth. She lived life by one motto: One day at a time, God willing. My mom and I have often tried to figure out how the two of them, with completely different outlooks on life, got along so well. The only way I’ve been able to figure it out is to say that they knew that they balanced each other out.

I want to live my life with the positive outlook. My great-aunt’s life wasn’t easier than my grandmother’s, but she had an easier time going through life because she always assumed the best about people and situations. She lived to be 102 and she left everyone she met a happier, more loved person.

Today I’ll ask you, what are you going to do starting today to walk a walk that embraces the blessings that the Lord has surrounded you with? Are you going to create a journal to record your gifts and blessings? Are you going to get on your knees today and rejoice that you have another day of life? Are you going to pick up the phone and tell someone that they’ve blessed your life just because they’re in it? Are you going to react like the kid who got underwear for Christmas? Or the kid who got the best gift he/she could ever imagine?