“Every good gift and every perfect gift is from above, and comes down from the Father of lights, with whom there is no variation or shadow of turning.” James 1:17 NKJV

A beautiful sunrise, a gift from God.

As parents, we all tend to see our children as “gifts from God”. This perfect unique being (at least until they grow up!) that God has fashioned as a new creation but still a part of each parent. (“Before I formed you in the womb I knew you;” Jeremiah 1:5a always comes to mind!) As a spouse, we might also believe that our “better half” is a gift from God. I have to share with you the story of how my husband, Mark, and I met.

We’ll start young, but I’ll try to give you the Cliff Notes version. Mark was born in the south and raised as a true southern gentleman. He called his elders ma’am and sir, was polite, and was raised in a Southern Baptist Church. I was born in Indiana to parents who only knew each other for two months before they married (impulsive) but always were in love. I was not raised in any church but had godly grandparents who gave me a Bible when I was 9. What were the chances that we would meet?

When I was 5, my dad relocated to Erie, Pennsylvania to work. Mark’s father worked with a large national company and they relocated during this time to other southern cities before relocating (when Mark was in high school) to … you guessed it Erie, Pennsylvania! But we lived on opposite sides of the city, different high schools, different friends, different jobs. However, there was a small Southern Baptist “mission” church being built in Erie. My dad, who had worked construction for extra income, helped with the building and of course, it being a Southern Baptist church, Mark and his family also helped out. My sister and I decided to try the youth group at the church. And as you’ve guessed, this is how we finally met!

But one of the weirdest, most God-gifted facts of our relationship is that I was born almost exactly nine months to the day after Mark was born. See Jeremiah above! Well, that wasn’t totally Cliff Note-worthy, but definitely an example of God’s hand in our lives.

The gifts of God are good and perfect for each of His children. Who knows us better? We have spiritual gifts like salvation, forgiveness, the Holy Spirit, and eternal life. But we also have gifts of family, friends, special places and people that God has given us. We have talents and dreams given by God. We have God’s love and God’s proof of that love in Jesus Christ His Son. What gifts in your life are from God? Who has been placed in your life by God to teach, guide, comfort, love, or even admonish?

This week see how many gifts in your life you can think of that come from God. (And I can guarantee you, that we’ll all miss some.) Be thankful for your gifts. Praise God who knows you so well and gives the good and perfect gifts. Our gifts that come from our “Father of lights”.

I thank God for each of you! And I thank you for joining me this week to discuss our good and perfect gifts from God.