What Does It Look Like? - Mindful Appreciation (Part Trois)

What Does It Look Like? - Mindful Appreciation (Part Trois)

Envy comes from people’s ignorance of, or lack of belief in, their own gifts. —Jean Vanier

YEARS AGO, right after Christmas, I went in to see my hairdresser and asked her how her holidays went. She was beside herself! With her scissors flying across the top of my head, she animatedly explained the frustration she felt when every gift that she gave seemed unappreciated by the recipient. Even though she had invested substantial time and money in thinking about and purchasing the gifts, she watched as her gifts were quickly cast aside.

“No, you shouldn’t have!” We’ve all heard someone squeal this as he or she opens our gift. It’s a toss-up whether the person is sincere. Does he or she mean, I love it, but you really shouldn’t have gone to this great expense on my behalf? Or is he or she really thinking, No, you really shouldn’t have bothered at all; I hate this present. I wonder if we sometimes toss aside our Creator’s gifts to us as well.

So often, the talents we’ve been blessed with are ignored, discarded, or allowed to atrophy as we envy the beauty, the brains, the financial means, or the personality of someone else. Indirectly we are telling God, “No, you shouldn’t have. I don’t want this gift. I want the ones you gave [fill in the blank].”

I want Ava to mindfully appreciate the gifts her Creator has given her. I want her to see clearly that her talents are unique to God’s will for her and her calling as she fulfills her purpose for him.

You are the light of the world—like a city on a hilltop that cannot be hidden. (Matthew 5:14)

What do I want Ava to see? That mindful appreciation is not just about saying thank you for presents or services; it’s about saying thank you for the things that didn’t cost her or anyone else a dime.