Those good gifts we don't think of

We tend to want to make our kids' lives as easy as possible, don't we?  We work hard to provide them with plenty of food, clothes and warm beds, not to mention just what they wanted for Christmas.  It is completely natural for us to want to give our children good gifts, but lately I've been wondering about those good gifts that we don't usually think of, things like-

~a compassionate heart
~humility
~genuine love and care for others
~selflessness
~gratitude

Those good gifts don't come naturally or wrapped under the Christmas tree.  God teaches them to us through the experiences of life.

I suppose the reason I have been considering this lately is because we are in process to adopt an older child through the foster care system.  Many well meaning people think that it is not wise to adopt out of birth order, let alone bringing in a child with lots of baggage, who might drag down your children.  I can understand their point of view, but rather than looking at adopting an older child as a detriment to our children, just think of all the benefits!

Wouldn't it be great for our children to learn-

~compassion for people who come from hard, hard backgrounds?
~humility- that the world doesn't revolve around them? 
~to love someone unconditionally, even though they might be hard to love at times?
~to put another's needs before their own?
~a thankful spirit for all they have been given?

I'm sure there are many ways to encourage these attributes in our kids, not everyone has to adopt an older child. (:  But I'd encourage you, if you have kids, to not spend all your energy shielding them from every harmful outside influence, that just leads to pride- they think they are "better" than everyone else.  Rather, provide your kids with opportunities to interact with others who are different from them so we can show them God's love!