![\"an](\"https:\/\/wp.patheos.com\/community\/sites\/31\/2010\/10\/IMG_0312-150x150.jpg\" "\\"Sadie")
This constellation of simple gifts created so much joy for me, against the backdrop of wilder and wilder political posturing, of tragedy being played out daily across the world,\u00a0 of suffering people due to\u00a0 personal and corporate cruelty, that I felt called again to be more attentive in my ordinary life of noting the gifts of\u00a0 God as they come in the living each day. In James we read that \u201cEvery generous act of giving, with every perfect gift, is from above, coming down from the Father of lights, with whom there is no variation or shadow due to change.\u201d (James 1: 17). I so often feel bogged down by the sorrow, flummoxed by the frustration and despairing of any evidence of the intended rule of God. But I need, as I acknowledge those realities, also to be continually attuned to the simple gifts that abound. So often those gifts come so simply \u2013 a phone call, a new rose, a snuggle from the aging dog, a surprise freedom appearing on the doorstep, a realization that I no longer get irked by things that used to plague me. And I can only pray: \u201cthank you, thank you, thank you.\u201d<\/p>\n
And I can call on that simple generosity as I plan for all the rest of the gifts for this season. What can I give to each one that reflects a generous heart, a constancy of love, a particularity of affection? It\u2019s not always too hard to figure out what might answers those question for my nearest and dearest, but what can I give to the world with its panoply of needs? How do I sort out among the causes that flood my mailboxes, all worthy, all important, all critical? The Epistle of James also tells us that, \u201cIf any of you is lacking is wisdom, ask God, who gives to all generously and ungrudgingly, and it will be given to you.\u201d (James 1: 5). I have experienced doing that, sitting down with all kinds of requests and needs in my lap, and asking for wisdom\u2026 then waiting, listening, opening my heart as wide as I know how, until a clarity comes to me that says, \u201cThis is the way; go this way.\u201d I will never be in a Founders\u2019 Circle of Magnificent Givers, but I can with wisdom and compassion, give simple gifts where I am called to place them.\u00a0 I would like to contribute to the healing and joy of God\u2019s world and people in the same proportion that my simple birthday gifts brought to me.<\/p>\n
And it begins with my attention to God\u2019s heart, my prayers for those God loves, and my simple offering. I am grateful for the ongoing chance to give and rejoice out of the abundance of Life I have been given.<\/p>\n<\/body><\/html>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
It\u2019s one of the festival seasons in our family, the fall cluster of birthdays and celebrations. My birthday is the first, and I always enjoy what come to me each year. But this year the date was complicated by schedules, travel, illness and competing agendas, and it didn\u2019t seem to be the occasion for a […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1917,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-14","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-uncategorized"],"yoast_head":"\n