Gratitude

"The foundation of gratitude is the expectation of nothing."  The first time I heard this oft-quoted proverb was in Tennessee from a Major who works at the ANG Base I was temporarily serving at.  It really hit me like a ton of bricks, and daily it rings more and more true.  A very obvious example in my life stems from my guitar playing.  For the last year, I've been toting my acoustic guitar to choir practices and sunday morning services in the hopes that a few of the pieces would go well with a six-string.   Over the course of the last 12 months I was able to help out in this area while also honing my skills.  Considering I am still on the low end of a pretty steep learning curve, I think I won out more than the church in this arrangement, as several of the arrangements have really challenged me and forced me to improve.  Thankfully, though, they haven't kicked me out of the band or asked me to leave the guitar at home (yet).  Well, a week ago we presented our Christmas concert as a choir and I was blessed to play guitar as well on just 1 of many great pieces.  I truly expected absolutely nothing out of this service other than the joy of praising the Lord and a little satisfaction in (hopefully) a job well done.  The choir however, saw things differently.  Unbeknownst to me (and I think all the other musicians) the entire choir had pooled together some money to buy each and every one of us a gift certificate for a local restaurant.  It was a surprise, it was humbling, and it was a blessing. 

I've received a bunch of accolades in my life - most of them were hard-fought and specifically sought, usually for the purpose of retaining a position or gaining a higher one.  This sign of appreciation/gift however, will stand out for a long time to me.  I think I can say, honestly, that it was the first time that I truly, truly, truly expected nothing at all, and was blessed with an expression of gratitude.  It really meant a lot to me and I learned a valuable lesson from the event.  With Christmas 2007 almost completely in my "rear-view mirror" (we'll have had "Christmas" three times by the time it's all said and done), I look back at the gifts that have meant the most to me - all of them, without a doubt are the ones I didn't expect at all.  They were the ones I was most thankful for, the ones that showed the most graciousness from the giver.

 I agree with that Major.  The foundation of gratitude is the expectation of nothing.  Another way of looking at it is to say that we should give for the sake of giving, not for the anticipation of the reward; that comes from faith.  God bless you all in this season of giving.  In the end, I pray that you receive the perfect gift, Jesus Christ, who was sent to reunite us with our creator.  His birth, death, burial, and resurrection fulfilled the law that had enslaved us for millenia.  Do you want to be free?  He holds the key.  Merry Christmas!