Online shopping has become the big trend of modern society. I feel that besides the convenience, there is something about having packages arrive to your door that feels special….there is a certain feeling of excitement, like you are receiving a gift! (even though you paid for that gift).
And then I thought to myself: every single day Hashem sends us gifts. We receive many gifts. And if we really concentrate on realizing that , we can feel very special. Imagine if a friend or relative would send you gifts each day. You would feel that you owe a lot back to that person.
And each day we receive free gifts from Hashem. He asks nothing back other than that we should serve Him with happiness.
Okay, not all the gifts are what we may expect or even ask for….but each gift is sent to each of us specially selected by Hashem Himself, tailored to each of our needs spiritually and materially.
And we need to realize and appreciate when we receive a gift that it is an undeserved gift from Hashem and we should thank Him and learn to be grateful for everything we have. We need to develop an attitude of gratitude.
Learning to be grateful is a very important part of life and something our children need to be taught.
So often I see little children complaining, asking for more and more, never appreciating what they are given. We may call that spoiled. I prefer to call it unappreciative. It is so important in our society for people to learn to appreciate what they have in life. To learn thankfulness. This is reflected in the way we appreciate what Hashem gives us.
So next time that doorbell rings with a delivery from amazon, stop for a moment and reflect: imagine that all the blessings you received that day arrived to you gift wrapped. You need to acknowledge them and thank the Sender.
What can we give back to Hashem? Add in another mitzvah, another good deed, another act of kindness. This is what gives Hashem happiness. And we do need to concentrate on how we can give Hashem happiness, nachas. That is the way our children learn to appreciate what we give them as parents and how they need to give us nachas.