“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
God’s gifts to us are good, even when we may not realize they are at the time. When we go to visit the grandkids, I usually have little wrapped prizes so they can open one each morning. The girls were delighted with theirs yesterday morning but when Grant opened his stuffed pirate he was not thrilled. In fact he threw it on the floor. Later in the day he appreciated it more and we used it when we played school.  His room theme is pirates so the prize was to fit in with his room decor.  But at first he never gave it a chance and threw it away. I wonder how many gifts the Lord sends to us that we discard or just plain ignore. We would rather have something else and so we put it aside. Maybe he sends us something that is wrapped up in a way we refuse to open. Inside is a precious gift if we would be willing to look beneath. Sometimes we go through hard circumstances and we just want to get out of them as quick as possible, when He is forming His character in us. Or maybe we wish for the gift our neighbor has and believe we are short changed. The apostle Paul learned the secret of contentment (Phil 4;11) and may we receive what the Lord sends, giving  thanks in all things.