The Avengers-themed pop socket
Remember to be thankful for even the tiny little blessings this Christmas season
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The Avengers-themed Pop Socket
Gifts are my love language. I really really like receiving gifts but even more than that, I like giving them. My Christmas list starts December 26th—both for myself and for other people in my life. As a gift idea comes to mind, I write it down in a Google Doc for reference in the future. That’s how my brain operates.
However, because gifts are really my thing, I, unfortunately, have high standards when other people get me gifts. I’ve been really working on it, but I really prefer it when someone just gets me the perfect gift. It doesn’t have to be something super crazy or expensive, but something I want or need, usually, one that I never consciously expressed. Even though I make lists of what I want for Christmas, the best gifts are the ones people didn’t find on the list but just knew I needed.
One of the best Christmas gifts my wife ever gave me was an Avengers-themed pop socket for my phone. It sounds so silly, but truly I got incredibly excited when she got it for me. I had a pop socket on my phone case but the stickiness wore off. I never asked for a new one, but she noticed I needed one. And I like pop sockets on my phone. She got me one with the Avengers “A” on it. Not only was it something I wanted, but it was also themed with a movie franchise I love.
That little gift demonstrated how much she loved me because I saw she truly knew me. I was so grateful but no one else could really understand why such a little thing brought me so much joy. But it was the perfect gift.
As I have grown old (at 25 and a half), I’ve begun to appreciate so much more the small intimate gifts that people have given me. I mean, recently a student gave me a single Pringle chip as a gift for Christmas. Though I threw it away because of my policy that I don’t eat food touched by middle schoolers, it was at least nice that she wanted to get me something for Christmas.
Even when it isn’t Christmas time, I think it’s important to remember the power of these small gifts. I know I’m prone to only recognize the BIG BLESSINGS. It’s much harder to recognize the little ones.
In church growing up, an elder would read prayer requests at the end of every service. I remember oftentimes, usually one particular little girl, would add a prayer card about something seemingly insignificant. She’d thank God for sending Jesus, or thank God for her parents, or thank God for something like the sunshine. It always seemed so silly to pray for those things when other requests talked about people dealing with cancer, going on hospice care, or losing their homes. For most of my childhood, I looked upon those little requests with disdain.
But I now recognize that if my God is big enough to hold onto our concerns for cancer and financial struggles, then God is big enough to be praised for sending the sunshine. God isn’t just a cosmic vending machine where we ask for stuff, God is the Creator and author of every good thing—no matter how small.
“Every good and perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father of the heavenly lights” (James 1:17, NIV).
Paul also tells us to:
“Give thanks in all circumstances; for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus for you” (1 Thess. 5:18, ESV).
And that means all circumstances. Even the inconsequential ones. Even the bad ones. All of them. It’s God’s will that we give thanks all day, every day. Just as the little girl at church showed me all those years ago, though the lesson took a while to land.
My whole Christmas can be made because my wife gave me a simple pop socket. If I applied that same attitude of gratitude to all the gifts of God around me, imagine how my life—and relationship with God—would change. Because God is giving me so many great but simple gifts every day: safe travel to work, breath in my lungs, money in my bank account, a snuggly cat, and a loving family. Gratitude is a transformational practice, rooting up the negativity in our soul to train us to look for the light of God in the world around us. Even small acts of thanksgiving can change us from within.
It’s not just something the Bible says. Science suggests gratitude is amazing as well. Brene Brown in Atlas of the Heart writes:
There is overwhelming evidence that gratitute is good for us physically, emotionally, and mentally. There’s research that shows that gratitute is correlated with better sleep, increased creativity, decreased entitlement, decreased hostility and agression, increased decision-making skills, decreased blood-pressure—the list goes on.
Yeah, so, time to start being more grateful. And what better time to start than Christmas?
Start a list of the silliest things in the world you are thankful to God for. I double-dog dare you. Make thankfulness for the little things a daily practice and watch your life change.
Merry Christmas to you all.
QUESTION
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What is one simple thing in your life that you are grateful for?
POLL
Thanks be to God,
Jake Doberenz
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Merry Christmas, Jake!