Skip to main content

Perfect gifts



“Whatever is good and perfect is a gift coming down to us from God our Father, who created all the lights in the heavens. He never changes or casts a shifting shadow.”
‭‭James‬ ‭1:17‬ ‭NLT‬‬

I have a lot of family and friends with March birthdays, and as the years add up, it becomes harder and harder to find that “perfect gift.”
Perhaps it’s because we change so much as we pass from decade to decade, like walking through successive doors connecting room after room of its own discoveries and challenges. 

And then there is the perception that everyone else is as difficult to please as we are. We think we know exactly what we want or need, but we end up choosing things — even for ourselves — that don’t fit or function the way we imagined. Even our own plans undermine us, leading us into frustration or failure, leaving us eventually disappointed or discontented and looking for the next thing that hopefully won’t. 
We go on as if life “just happens” or happens to us instead of for us…
Angry that we had to circle back because we forgot our cell phone, only to later pass by a horrible accident that just happened —right where we would have been, if we were on schedule. 
Disappointed that we didn’t get that dream job we wanted so much, only to find out later what a toxic place it was. 
Irritated that we forgot something at the store and had to go back in, only to encounter that other cashier whose smile and encouraging words changed the course of our day — or that ours changed the course of her life. 
You see, we can make our plans, down to the minute and penny, but it’s God who tries to direct us into just the right place at the right time. (Proverbs 16:9)
We think we know what we want, but God knows what we need, even before we ask. (Matthew 6:8)
And He knows us so well, that even when we struggle to pray, when we can’t even explain how we feel, He gently draws out our vague and anguished expressions and forms thoughts clear enough to understand and answer. (Romans 8:26) Much like an attentive, loving parent understands a toddler’s babbling or a teen’s silent scowl…

We change, but He never changes. We think we know what we need, but He knows what we really need. 
Even when it doesn’t come packaged as we thought, He gives us so many perfect gifts…Even this very day, with its chill and overcast skies. I woke up. I’m breathing. I’m thinking. I’m thankful. Today is a good and perfect gift, too. 

#BackyardDevo

Comments

Popular posts from this blog

#INSUFFICIENT Part 3...Running on empty

Every day, in some way or another, we seem to come up short. Our output exceeds our income, and we are "in the red" when it comes to so many things, such as time, energy, money...even enthusiasm. Being tapped out seems to have become the norm, as we chase every opportunity, pursue countless friendships, enlist ourselves in every new cause, and rack up accomplishments, jam-packing our resumes, calendars, and Facebook friends list until we don't have a single spare moment to ourselves. From the outside, it looks like a "full life;" on the inside, it feels pretty empty. How can something so empty feel so heavy? First of all, "more" isn't necessarily "better." Have you ever been behind a group of tween girls ordering their drinks in a coffee shop? They like the fru-fru girly coffees, with lots of sugar, calories, and every possible option, extra this, extra that...Aside from taking FIVE-EVER (I just learned this term from my daughter-...

The Friday Frenzy

How the weeks fly by! It's Friday, already, and here we are, dizzied by the sight of our to-do lists...so many boxes, still unchecked! Where do you begin? It seems that your desk needs tidying up, your closet needs cleaning, or perhaps the fridge needs to be cleaned out. Rather than face the mountain of tasks we should be doing, we plunge into a frenzy of something I call " productive procrastination. " If it requires explanation, perhaps it's not one of your unfortunate inclinations, as it is mine. For clarification, however, allow me to define the phrase: exerting your efforts in otherwise non-urgent, comparatively mindless tasks, rather than the more urgent ones requiring your full attention. It's something we all do, once in a awhile--something I've done from an early age. The phenomenon (as I choose to categorize it, since it seems to take on an energy and behavior all its own) presents itself whenever feel unequal to the priority tasks at hand. For w...

Ever After

This weekend, we re-watched “Ever After,” a historical fiction drama based on the fairy tale of Cinderella. As a most beloved daughter reduced to a despised servant in her own manor house when her father died, the girl endured heartbreak and hardship for many years...until...! Long story short, when she stood next to the throne with the royal family, the newly crowned princess and future queen, she was in a completely new position in the presence of her angry stepmother. She was no longer under the wicked woman’s control, to order around and abuse. No longer subject to her unkind words or doubled labor. No longer her slave. She has nothing to fear or dread from the woman who had held her captive in the cruelest way her whole young life, because now she wore a crown.  Imagine your life with the same kind of triumph. Freed from the voice that condemns you and tells you you’ll never be good enough. Free from the ever-increasing burden of plodding through your days with the weight of t...