“Every good gift and every perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father of lights, with whom there is no variation or shadow due to change,” James 1:17.
“Yes! It’s here!” With trembling hands, I ripped open the package. There it was – my purse. I breathed a sigh of relief, closed my eyes and prayed, “Thank You, Lord.”
Let me back up. Our family’s very first vacation via airplane was filled with all kinds of memories, but one thing I will always remember from that trip was the absolute shower of blessings God rained down on us. He is so good to us, and I felt it keenly on that trip. The story of my purse is certainly the most memorable one.
Sometimes, I find myself so wrapped up in the “me-world” that I forget that this world and this life aren’t about me. None of it is. We are all put here on this earth to bring glory to God’s name. And when good things happen to us, it isn’t coincidence, luck, or our own amazingness causing those things to happen. They are gifts from God, like James 1:17 says. Every time something good happens to me, it should point my eyes to heaven and fill me with thankfulness to the Father of lights. Having this mindset is something I have to train myself to do – it’s like a special pair of glasses. When I put them on, I can suddenly see all the blessings around me that I couldn’t see before.
Our first vacation via airplane was from Illinois to Washington. We were flying there to visit some national parks and also visit my family – my sister and her family, plus my parents who lived with them. The main purpose of the trip was to visit my dad, who was slowly but surely declining from Lewey body dementia. We went on this trip, knowing it would likely be the last time we got to see him on this earth. The main prayer requests for our trip were for flying to go smoothly and for a good last visit with Dad.
God, in His abundant goodness, blessed us with positive answers to both those prayers – but He also gave us much, much more!
We got to see God’s amazing creativity in the beauty of creation, above and beyond what we had expected or hoped for during our visits to the national parks. We saw so many different types of mountain flowers that I lost count, incredible sealife in tidepools, countless cool animals, amazing mountain vistas, and incredibly huge, majestic trees.
Several of the “good things” we saw on that trip were little, unexpected things which brought extra enjoyment: easy and smooth checkins at both airports, an unexpected rental car upgrade with more room and cool features, getting to see seals on the coast, and a really cool ranger talk in the rainforest that made our whole visit even better (not just that, but really showed off how amazing God is through His creation)!
Some of the other “good things” were those unexpected moments that pop up and fill me with stress. I found myself pleading with God for help: a child suddenly developed pink eye right before we left, the parking lot we needed at the airport was full, and Paul’s phone suddenly died from a swollen battery! Yet, God showered us with good things in those moments too: I already had pink eye medicine on hand so we didn’t have to rush to the doctor, the airport allowed us to park in a different (better!) parking lot for the same price, and we were able to get what we needed off of Paul’s phone, plus send it in to get fixed.
There were also all of the other, smaller things we hoped and prayed for: good weather for hiking and seeing the mountains, safe travels (in spite of a terrible, pothole-filled road), coordinating some of the hikes with my sister’s family, finding parking in national parks, and no injuries. Most importantly, we had a good visit with my dad, with some precious moments of clarity and brief conversation.
Oh, and of course, my purse! God’s goodness here is just the icing on the cake. After spending time at my sister’s house, her family and our family left Mom and Dad there and drove 6.5 hours away to Mt. Rainier. And I totally blew it – I left my purse back at my sister’s house! My purse, which had my wallet inside. My wallet, which had my driver’s license inside. My driver’s license, which I would need to fly home.
And God’s good gifts were not done. He had this covered, even when I felt like the world was ending because of my foolishness! We realized the purse was missing as soon as we arrived, which meant we had time to figure something out. Mom was able to find my purse, and because she couldn’t leave Dad alone, my sister’s sister-in-law came to the house, picked it up, and mailed it to us. It arrived the day before we had to leave – perfect timing! God’s good gift to help us get home.
Now every time I see that purse, it puts a smile on my face and reminds me of the Father of lights, raining down good gifts. Not only that, but it reminds me to put on my “good gift glasses” and look around right now, to be able to see and thank God for His goodness in my life.
Taking It Further:
What are some of the good gifts (big or small) that you can spot right now in your life? Take the time to make a list, then thank God for them!
