One Thousand Gifts Update

Today I reached 500 gifts in my One Thousand Gifts List! This has been so good for me, because it is teaching me to recognize gifts from God. In the beginning, I would sit down in the evening and try to think back over the day, and discover the gifts. Now, after five months of practicing this, I am learning to recognize them as they come. Several times each day, when things happen, I find myself smiling and saying, "Now this is a gift!"

Last week, a student dropped by my office at 11:00 and invited me to lunch at 12:00. She said, "We're having soup!" When I got there, her husband explained, "We used to feel we had to prepare something special so that we could invite you. It had to be formal. But now, we know you love us, and we love you. So, even though we are just having soup today, we wanted you to be with us." And my heart whispered, "This is a gift!"

Sometimes the gifts are small and silly, like "Gift #378, My new green pen!" Sometimes they are awesome, like this morning when I was reading I Peter 1:7, and I read that trials come to prove that my faith, which is more precious than gold, is genuine. So, since the habit is growing, I immediately grabbed my green pen and added to my list, "Gift #498, My faith, more precious than gold." A few hours later, pondering that idea again, I added "Gift #501, The trial that proves my faith is genuine."