Think back for a moment? What was the greatest gift you ever received as a child, as a young adult, or perhaps in your later years? Of course, the gift of salvation that comes from our “Heavenly Father of Lights” should be our first remembrance, and should end with a prayer of thanksgiving every time it comes to mind. Even the smallest gift we have received should remind us that every gift or blessing we receive should be bathed in a prayer of Thanksgiving. In your mind, have you come up with some special blessings in your life?

One unexpected “gift” I remember happened when I was in college. My parents had sacrificially helped me through my first year, but as I began my second year, funds from home were just not available.

One day I was called out of class to the business office. Instead of handing me my “walking papers,” I was told that an anonymous donor had paid, in full, my tuition for my sophomore year. Throughout the years, I have sincerely prayed for that person who became the hands and heart of Jesus in a stressful moment in my life.

I love the way this verse is translated in The New Living Translation.

“Whatever is good and perfect comes down to us from God our Father, who created all the lights in the heavens.