My younger sister, now a college freshman, was set to attend the Worldwide Academic Year Opening Worship 2025 with our mom. It was the first time either of them had attended such an event, and both were visibly excited. Caught up in their enthusiasm, I offered to pack them lunchboxes. True to my word, I woke up early that morning and prepared their meals. After sending them off, I went back to sleep. When I woke up, a message from my mom was waiting: “We’ll enjoy the lunch, thank you.” Though I had used only simple ingredients, her words made me feel unexpectedly proud like I had done something truly meaningful.
I recalled a time in college when I briefly brought my own lunch from home. One day, unhappy with the side dishes, I lashed out at my mom and refused to take the lunchbox she had prepared. Looking back, I can’t quite understand why I acted that way. Maybe, without realizing it, I had begun to treat her care as something I simply deserved. I never once thanked her, even as I received a lunchbox filled with her love. But none of my mother’s efforts were ever something to be taken for granted.
Spiritually, I was no different. I treated God’s love as something I was entitled to, and I took pride in what I had accomplished—forgetting that it was all made possible by His grace. As if it had been my own strength, I claimed credit for what was never mine to begin with. But now, with a humbled heart, I resolve to offer only thanksgiving and glory to God, who has poured out His unconditional love on me since the day I was created.