I have a beautiful friend who is incredibly transparent; with her struggles, with her victories, with her faith journey.  Inspired by her, I decided to try transparency.  I didn’t like it.  Here’s what happened.

For some time now, the Lord has been teaching me to see His gifts in every day life.  "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 ESV) It doesn’t say every spiritual gift, although we know all of those come from him.  It doesn’t say every ‘big’ gift, although we do give Him credit for those.  It says every gift.  Every kind word, every front parking space when you’re exhausted, every green light when you’re driving your sick friend home;  every good gift is from God. 

This realization has created in me a thankful heart for everything my Father gives me, big or small.  What an incredible thing to realize everything good in my life is from the Lord!  It becomes much, much easier for praise to continually be in my mouth when I’m thanking Him for his constant, consistent gifts.

The next step in this process began a few months ago.  “Rejoice with those who rejoice, weep with those who weep.”(Romans 12:15 ESV)  I realized that my Father has many children, and He gives them good gifts, just like He gives them to me.  Sometimes, He even gives someone I know a good gift that I wanted, and doesn’t give it to me.  I don’t know about you, but rejoicing with someone who has been given something I prayed for, but didn’t receive, is hard.  I realized that I, while theoretically understanding that my Father has millions of children, wanted to be treated as His only child.  Clearly, I needed to change.  (The second part of that verse is important.  But that's another blog.)

So the Lord has softened my heart, and opened my heart-eyes, to see good things happening to other people as gifts from Him, just as I learned to see His gifts to me.  And, slowly, I am beginning to praise Him for His gifts to others.  Even when He gives them something I wanted instead of giving it to me.

So I shared an abbreviated version of the above with a lady I met today.  Her response was something like 'I’m glad you’re finally learning that, I learned that YEARS ago.  My pastor just preached a sermon about it!  He said it indicates there are things in your life that need cleansing, and that you need peace.'  Ouch.   It isn’t that she was wrong.  She wasn’t.  My Father peals back onion petals to reveal the next thing that needs sanctifying.  I’m very thankful He doesn’t dump everything He wants changed on me at once.  I would buckle under the weight!  I realize there are issues that need change, and it is getting both easier and more spontaneous to thank Him for gifts to others as I would thank Him for gifts to me.  I just didn’t want to hear such a blunt ‘its about time’!  

So now I have TWO things to work through:  rejoicing with others when God gives them good gifts, and taking with grace and wisdom true words that sting.  One more onion petal yanked out.  That’s gonna leave a mark.

‘Better is open rebuke than hidden love.  Faithful are the wounds of a friend; profuse are the kisses of an enemy…Iron sharpens iron, and one man sharpens another.’ Prov. 27:6, 17 Even a new friend, I suppose.