every thing is a gift

St Ambrose lays the wisdom on us today in A Year with the Church Fathers.

He tells us what it means to be poor in spirit. To gain the heart of seeing everything we have as a gift, and being grateful for it rather than lusting for more. If we are in the wrong mindset, no matter how much we get we will be unhappy and want more. But if we learn to see everything as a gift from God, we will become grateful and happy with what He's given us.

Every day is a gift. Each breath we breathe is a gift. We look around at the lives of those around us and we become envious of what they have. Why don't I have their lives? Their house, their car, their kids? We think there's something wrong with us because we aren't like them.

But God has given each of us amazing gifts. Just the lives we get to lead, seeing sunsets each day and eating delicious food (even if you can't have dairy, like me) and making friends and loving people. All of these things are precious gifts that He's given all of us. Anything He gives on top of that is just incredible generosity.

God, thank You for Your amazing generosity. Please help us to learn to be grateful, by being poor in spirit.