I could hear them in the living room, discussing the gift
she was about the open. Every time she
completed a task in her favorite iPad game, Joanna got to choose a virtual “present”
to open. Joanna was matter-of-factly informing
her daddy that she wanted the “green horsie.”
Joanna, not deterred by her father’s obviously illogical
explanation, persisted. “Green horsie,
pleeeease!”
She eventually opened up the present on the screen,
discovering, much to her dismay, that it was NOT a green horsie. Sadness
ensued.
“Hon, you need to be thankful for the gift you’ve been
given,” I found myself shouting from the kitchen.
I’m not a 2-year-old.
But I get it. I understand the plight of my daughter, who
longs for a gift they haven’t been given, and despises the one they just
opened.
Think back to your Christmas-time experiences as a
6-year-old. You’ve been anxiously waiting for Christmas
morning to come, and it finally does, and you tear into the presents hoping desperately
for that new doll, or computer game, or paint set, or robot, but you open the
box only to discover your most frequently-received, and most-despised gift…new clothes.
I find myself shouting “Green horsie!” on most days –
demanding a gift from God, telling him what I think I want, upset when the gift
I open isn’t what I’ve asked for.
Why can’t I take my own advice? Be thankful for the gift
I’ve been given? SEE it as a gift, and
not a curse, (like new clothes to a 6-year-old)?
My Father, the best gift-giver, isn’t arbitrary. He isn’t guessing. And He certainly isn’t frowning when He hands
us gifts – He chooses each one carefully, perfectly, specifically, because he
knows us intimately and loves us dearly.
“Which of you, if your son asks
for bread, will give him a stone? Or if he asks for a fish, will give him a
snake? If you, then, though
you are evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will
your Father in heaven give good gifts to those who ask him! (Matt 7)
If I am a daughter of the King, then ALL things can be
beautiful, because all He gives are gifts.
What I see as broken, messy, and ugly, God declares a gift. I may not be able to say “thank
you” in the moment, but one day in heaven, I will praise God for every gift he
has ever given, thanking my Father that he gave me the BEST, and didn’t just
fill my life with petty green horsies.
Thanks for this reminder!
ReplyDeleteLoved that bit at the end about maybe not being thankful in the moment, but knowing one day we'll see everything God's given us for the gifts that they were. Can't wait for that day.
ReplyDelete