We roll our eyes each year and snark that the kids get so much stuff for Christmas that they can’t even remember what all they got.  By the time they have Christmas with their own parents, then both sets of grandparents, and all the aunts and uncles, they’ve got a mountain of toys and clothes and no idea what all they’ve amassed under the piles of boxes and wrapping paper.

How human it is to have something precious one minute and forget it the next.  We’re get excited but it’s so short-lived.  And then we’re on to the next thing.  Even after the fun and surprise of all the Christmas gifts yesterday, we’ll go out shopping today to spend more money, get more stuff—hey, it’s 70% off at Old Navy!

That’s why a heart of gratitude takes effort.  It takes intentional focus and deliberate choice to sit still in the middle of the “getting” and just reflect on the magnitude of what we’ve already got.  

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