I absolutely love giving gifts. I mean it, I really love picking out the perfect thing for someone I love, knowing that the joy on their faces when they open it will be the absolute best part of it all. I usually try my hardest to wrap it up nicely, you know- don't tear the tissue, add a bow, all that good stuff. And when you hand that pretty little something to whomever, you're handing them a little piece of your heart. A little something saying "Hey, love ya & I hope you know it." Of course, when you give a gift, you're not expecting anything in return. You don't hand someone a present hoping that they'll thank you a hundred times, and smile ear-to-ear the rest of the day. But isn't it nice when they do?

Have Your Voice Heard: Become an Odyssey Creator

Now, imagine this. You go to the store with the absolute perfect gift in mind. You finally find it, check that it's the right size & color. You take it home and take care to wrap it as best that you can, folding each corner of the paper down, and tying it up with a sparkly ribbon. Now comes the fun part- giving the gift away. But instead of opening your present and exuding gratitude, the person you'd spent so much time thinking of set your gift aside and began to worry about all of the things that they hadn't yet opened up yet. You'd be so confused. This is how I imagine that God feels when we don't give thanks.

This is something that I caught myself doing just the other day. In the midst of what seemed like a million things going wrong, I forgot to take a step back and say thank you. I had forgot to say thank you to the God of the world that had so incredibly graciously blessed me with amazing friends and family that I did absolutely nothing to deserve, a roof over my head, a full stomach, and the opportunity to attend my dream school. Instead, I was focusing on all of the wrong things. How could I overlook all of these amazing gifts laid out before me, handpicked just for me, and point across the room at someone else's gift and say, "but look how nice that one is." How could I begin to open those gifts and think, "but this isn't what I asked for." The only way to fix this whole problem was to change my perspective. Because I'm certainly not about to ask God to change the gifts the He's given me.

Each and every single thing in our lives has been so careful and meticulously chosen for us, sculpted by our Father and tied up with love & grace & perfection. So how can we not say thanks? How can we do anything BUT say thanks? Honestly, we can't. We should be shouting thanks and praise with each breath from our mouths. Put your trust in Him, knowing that he will let you open whatever gift he has chosen for you at the exact time you are ready to open it. Because I promise that He will. 1 Thessalonians 5:18 tells us, "Give thanks in all circumstances, for this is Gods will for you in Christ Jesus." If that's not clear instruction, then I don't know what is. So the next time you begin to complain about an unopened gift, or compare your presents to another, take a step back and remember that the creator of the universe chose that gift for you, and start singing thanks and praise like your made of the stuff.