Enjoying Our Gifts With Gratitude

There's an old book called "Tracks of a Fellow Struggler" written by John Claypool, who lost a daughter to leukemia. He tells a story of growing up during World War II. When one of his father's business associates went off to war, the man's family went to live elsewhere, and they left behind their washing machine for the Claypool family to use.
Two years passed. The war was over, the friends returned, and they wanted their washing machine back. When they came and took it, young Claypool openly expressed his resentment. His family had grown accustomed to having the washing machine, and it seemed so unfair to have to give it back. His mother wisely pointed out that the washing machine was never theirs in the first place. It was a gift for as long as they were able to use it, and the proper response to a gift is gratitude.
When you come to the place where you recognize that everything you love is a gift, it becomes possible to enjoy those gifts - not with an attitude of greed but with one of gratitude.

- Nancy Guthrie in "Holding on to Hope"