A letter to my friend...

Sometimes God wraps his gifts in unlikely packages.  Often they come wrapped as tiny, helpless babies.  His greatest gift was born in a stable.  No one could imagine how a tiny baby could change the world.  But that baby grew, and taught, and loved, and healed, and suffered, and died, and rose again.  Along the way, that tiny baby became a man who conquered sin and death and gave us hope for eternity.  He was truly God's greatest gift.


I received a gift from God in the form of a baby girl.  When she was born, I couldn't imagine how that tiny baby would change my life.  She grew, she laughed, she loved, she died.  Along the way, that tiny baby became a little girl who taught me how to trust God, how to love people, how to make the most of every day, how to suffer, how to be brave, and how to keep my focus on eternity.  She was a severe mercy, a blessing, and one of God's greatest gifts to me.


This week you have received a gift from God in the form of a baby boy.  As you look at him, you cannot yet see all the ways he will change your life.  He will grow.  He will laugh.  He will love.  Oh, how he will love!   He will teach you to trust God, to love people, to make the most of every day, to celebrate the little things (which are really the big things) and he will teach you how to be brave.  The world may say that he is not perfect.  God says that he is fearfully and wonderfully made.  You have been given a great gift that will take a lifetime to unwrap.  

We pray for blessings, we pray for peace

Comfort for family, protection while we sleep

We pray for healing, for prosperity

We pray for Your mighty hand to ease our suffering

All the while, You hear each spoken need

Yet love us way too much to give us lesser things

Cause what if Your blessings come through raindrops?

What if Your healing comes through tears

What if a thousand sleepless nights

Are what it takes to know You’re near?

What if trials of this life

Are Your mercies in disguise?

We pray for wisdom, Your voice to hear

We cry in anger when we cannot feel You near

We doubt Your goodness, we doubt Your love

As if every promise from Your Word is not enough

And all the while You hear each desperate plea

And long that we'd have faith to believe

Cause what if Your blessings come through raindrops

What if Your healing comes through tears?

What if a thousand sleepless nights

Are what it takes to know You’re near?

And what if trials of this life

Are Your mercies in disguise

When friends betray us, when darkness seems to win

We know the pain reminds this heart

That this is not our home

It's not our home

Cause what if Your blessings come through raindrops

What if Your healing comes through tears?

And what if a thousand sleepless nights

Are what it takes to know You’re near?

What if my greatest disappointments

Or the aching of this life

Is the revealing of a greater thirst

This world can’t satisfy?

And what if trials of this life

The rain, the storms, the hardest nights

Are Your mercies in disguise?

(lyrics by Laura Story)

Eucharisteo: to give thanks; to rejoice

Back in April I started my journal of 1,000 gifts.  It's my Eucharisteo journal--giving thanks to God for what he has given me.  I've named 271 so far...

47. People who adopt orphans
51. Sharing an earbud with my son; sharing his world
57. Real mail in the mailbox
68. Wagging dog tails
81. Father/Son camping trips
83. Wild strawberries among the weeds
100. Butterflies
108. Ginormous bowls of popcorn
129. Early morning walks
133. Teenagers who say thank you
143. Bunnies who want to be held
151. Iced tea mixed with lemonade
167. Clean sinks
184. A peaceful home
186. A husband who loves me
212. Strangers who say hello
215. Dinner parties
224. Roller coasters at night
231. A permanent address (only thought of this one after spending a day with the homeless)
236. Good night kisses
245. A child in my lap
267. Looking in libraries
269. Having a hand to hold

I hope my list will encourage you to notice the gifts God has given you.  Perhaps you haven't recognized the things around you as gifts.  Acts 14:16 says that God has not left us without evidence of himself and his goodness.  For instance, he sends you rain and good crops and gives you food and joyful hearts.  God has put things around us that reveal himself and his goodness--things like rain, food, and joyful hearts (and baby ducks, BFF's, and birthdays).  In John 17:7 Jesus says that everything he has is a gift from God.  In order to live life with a grateful heart, you have to recognize the gifts you have.

in everything give thanks, for this is God's will for you in Christ Jesus. (1 Thess. 5:18)