1 John 3:1a – How great is the love the Father has lavished on us, that we should be called children of God! And that is what we are! (NIV)

When I was a child, we made a big deal out of Mother's birthday. Since it was always celebrated in September, we would usually make a card or a bookmark for our mother during recess or art class at school. The teacher might help us sew a pin cushion or make a glasses case. Any other gifts, we would have to sneak around to make at home. Since Mother was a stay-at-home mom, it was hard to find a moment when she was not watching! But usually, we would find a way to weave a potholder or make her a key chain woven on an old wooden spool with four nails sticking out of the top. Needless to say, these were far from perfect gifts!

Usually though, her main gift from us kids would be promised chores. Like we did for Dad, we would put an I.O.U. in her card — only with Mom, we promised to do the dishes on her day. I would wash, and my brother would dry the spoons. He was too young to be allowed to do the knives and forks! But try as hard as we could, we usually didn't get the dishes washed or the floor swept as clean as she did. When I was an adult, Dad let it slip that she often went behind us to "tidy up" after we were in bed.

Dad's gift to her was different. Because she had to cook all our meals, Dad would give her a break from cooking. On Mom's birthday, we might go out to eat at the Chinese restaurant — which was the only restaurant in town. Some birthdays, Dad would make a great sacrifice and venture into the kitchen to cook up a storm. He was a very good cook, but very messy. When he was done, it actually looked like a storm had hit the kitchen! So that wasn't much of a break for Mom, because she would be stuck cleaning up after him! We kids would help as much as we could.

The point is that we showed Mother our love and appreciation by the gifts we gave her and the things we did for her. Likewise, God shows His love for us by lavishing us with His good gifts! From sunshine and rain in their season, to calling us His own dear children, God is so good to us!

Prayer: Heavenly Father, thank You for loving us so much that You call us to be Your children through Jesus Christ. We are awed by Your love and grace. Words will never be able to express how much we appreciate all that You do for us. But we want to thank You especially for the gift of eternal life through Jesus Christ, in whose name we pray. Amen.

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About the author:

Cassandra Wessel <casswessel4319@gmail.com>
Tionesta, Pennsylvania, USA
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