When my Andrew was a little boy, he had a favorite blanket he always
wanted at bedtime, nap time, or when he was feeling uneasy about life. This blanket, along with his folded first
finger, had seen him through many anxious moments and had ushered him into many
nights of restful sleep. I don’t suppose
Andrew couldn’t remember a time he didn’t have that blanket. He probably didn’t think too much about where
it came from, though he certainly knew when it was missing. So did the rest of the world!
Then, one day, at
a Furman football game, Linda and I crossed paths with a dear friend. Lottie had been a member of the church we
served when Andrew was born and had personally made that blanket for him. She had stitched his name and birth date into
it and had added many other beautiful touches to it. Our children were with us that day, so I saw
the opportunity to make an important introduction.
Andrew, this is Ms. Lottie
Caldwell. You know your favorite
blanket? She’s the one who made it just
for you.
Andrew looked up
at Lottie in wide-eyed amazement. I
didn’t know if he was going to say “thank you” or take off his shoes and fall
to the ground. But he moved to a new
level of understanding that day, a deeper level of maturity. Now, he not only knew the blessing of a good
gift. Andrew also knew the giver of the
gift. He not only had a cherished
resource. He had a relationship with the
one who had given it.
Your life and
mine are filled with good things. We
value them. We enjoy them. We sometimes think or talk about being lucky
or fortunate. But the Bible teaches us
that life’s good things can lead us beyond themselves. They can introduce us to the giver of the
gifts. James teaches us…
(James 1:17) Every good and
perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father of
the heavenly lights, who does not change like shifting shadows.
When you know
that every gift points beyond itself to a Giver, then you can see God in all of
life’s good gifts.
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