Act Accordingly

My oldest son has an uncanny ability to guess what any wrapped gift is based on shape, size, and sometimes smell. It is really hard to surprise him, and what makes it more complicated is that receiving gifts is his love language. So I am always struggling to both surprise and please him. One Christmas, I made the epic mistake of gifting him a chemistry set, which he despised. He tried hard to reassure me it wasn’t 100% awful (his face said otherwise) WORST. GIFT. EVER. He told me he loved me and gave me a sincere thank you.

I went on to have a few more sons (ok, five, but who’s counting) and learned something very specific about young men. The following Christmas, I upped my game and waited until the last possible moment to buy the BEST. GIFT. EVER. I didn’t want this gift in the house for more than 24 hours, in case he detected its presence or sensed what it was with his freaky gift intuition.

Christmas morning arrived. Time for the big reveal. He shook each gift and, with laser accuracy, predicted what was inside. With a shake or a sniff, his predictions were verified. “Book.” “Toy.” “Candy.” Then came the final present, and it was rather large. He shook it, sniffed it, and then looked at me with a really puzzled expression. I was relishing this moment. He was stumped, and I was ecstatic. Just knowing I had bested him on the guessing game delighted me. He thought he could predict me, and I had proved him wrong!

He began to peel away the wrapping paper slowly. He opened the back of the box without realizing it. The picture on the back of the box revealed… a red devil face. WHAT? Yes, I know I’m a Christian. I know it was Christmas. Bear with me.

My son looked confused. I smiled. I was no longer a rookie mom of boys. I was a seasoned veteran. That very specific thing I learned from raising boys? Boys LOVE blowing stuff up. He flipped the box over and revealed that the ‘devil’ was the logo for a VERY large fireworks kit. A purely mischievous smile bloomed across his face, and with one word, I knew I’d clinched the success I’d hoped for. His response? “Niiiiice.”

You see, the Bible describes our heavenly Father with that same concept of perfect gift-giving.

“Every good and perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father of the heavenly lights, who does not change like shifting shadows.” James 1:17

WOW. All the perfect gifts in your life are from your Dad. Who doesn’t change. He loves you all the time. And He wants to give you gifts! Just like I wanted to show my son how much I loved him through my gift-giving. I didn’t just want it to be a ‘good’ gift; I wanted it to be a ‘perfect’ gift.

So how do we respond to these gifts? A.C.T. accordingly.

A – Acknowledge the Giver. C – Concentrate on the Giver, not the gift. T – Thank the Giver.

Even when the chemistry set fell flat, my son acknowledged me and my sincere wish to please him. He focused more on me, the Giver, than the gift. And even though a chemistry set is a true piece of poop present for a teen boy, he still thanked me.

God’s gifts are perfect – like the fireworks kit, complete with Roman candles.

This Thanksgiving, A.C.T. accordingly. Acknowledge Him. Concentrate on Him. Thank Him.

Have a wonderful Thanksgiving, dear reader.