It's All a Gift

"'To name a thing is to manifest the meaning and value God gave it.'  I look at a day, a thing, an event in front of me, and it may look manna-strange: 'What is it?'  But when I name it, the naming of it manifests its meaning: to know it comes from God.  This is gift!  Naming is to know a thing's function in the cosmos - to name is to solve mystery."

There are a lot of things that have happened in my life that I see no purpose for other than pain.  I have spent countless hours agonizing over the reasons for some of these, the good behind the pain, but even my overactive imagination can't come up with anything.  Yet God says that all things work together for good, even things meant for evil by someone else (Rom. 8:28, Gen. 50:20).  Like Ann Voskamp says in the quote above, even things in my life as foreign to me as manna was to the Israelites don't have to cause me bewilderment.  God has already told me what they are - gifts.  All I need to do is give thanks for what He's given.  Blessed be the name of the Lord!