This was originally posted in January 2013 . Truth still applies…
Read moreNo refunds, no exchanges - James 1:17
Have you ever received a gift that you didn't want? Of course you have - we all have. We have all stood in those eternally long lines on December 26...to return the gift that didn't fit or didn't work or just wasn't right. Sometimes gift-givers just don't get it right. So we coach up our kids to respond graciously. "Even if you get 5 of the exact same things, say 'thank you'. And know we can take it back tomorrow!".
Have you ever received a gift from God that you didn't want? At the risk of sounding blasphemous, I surely have. And, if you are willing to be honest, I'll bet you have, too. Something - or someone - that wasn't what you wanted. A situation or answer that was not what you had hoped for, asked for, prayed long and hard for.
Since God doesn't have a "returns" policy on His gifts, what are we to do?
Well, first, I think He welcomes us to be honest with Him. (He already knows what we are thinking and feeling anyway!) Express your disappointment, grief, even anger over what He has permitted into your life. We should pour out our hearts to Him, allowing those emotions to empty out. I find it helpful to do this over and over, until I am ready for the next step.
Which is to Trust Him. Trust the Father of Lights, with whom there is no variation or shifting shadow. Who only gives good and perfect gifts. Sometimes they come wrapped in packaging that makes us think they are not what we want or need. But if we will trust the One who is the source of light - the One who never veers from His purpose to draw us closer to Himself, to conform us to the image of His Son, to give us lasting peace and joy and life more abundantly - then we can be assured that He has chosen the right gift. And that He will grant us the grace to receive it well, if only we will ask.
I get that it may very well take some time for our emotions to line up with what our heads are acknowledging. That's OK. Just keep trusting. As John Piper says, "God is always up to a thousand things that we cannot see." And He is always good, always loving. His Word is truer than my circumstances. Always.
If you have a gift from God that you would rather return, I understand. So does He. But turn your gaze away from the gift and onto the Giver. He loves you and He is at work on your behalf. I promise. And. more importantly, so does He.
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Legacies
What will my legacy be?
Read moreHappy New Year!
Spending a few moments pondering this year, from beginning to end. Here’s how it began….
Read moreHappy Birthday, Katie!
Thirty years ago today, I pushed my way into the sacred land of Motherhood. Literally. Water broke at midnight and 12 looooooooong hours later - including 4 hours of pushing (given the malpractice landscape of obstetrics today, that would no longer be an option!) - the world became a better place.Katie Alice Chambers was born.
My life changed in ways I never imagined...no one told me that, from that day forward, my heart would walk around outside my body. I would never ever read a tragic news story in the same way....because I would feel the pain of those involved now. Truly feel it. No birthing class prepared me for what it was like to take the product of that process home. Every bruise was surely leukemia and every headache, a brain tumor. Then there were the emotional maladies!! One cannot begin to imagine the fury inside the heart of a Mom whose child has been mistreated. The anxiety of waiting to find out if your child is "in"....the playground game, the birthday party, the nursery school, the team, the circle...always. The doubt and confusion of figuring out what a Mom is supposed to do. (Good grief, there are so many different opinions!!!) The unbridled pride you feel when your child wins...the race, the award, the mastery of some skill - no matter what that is. The amazed joy that God chose you to parent this kid. Wow. God's undeserved gifts.
And now she's a grown-up. My task is pretty much done. Now I get to enjoy the fruit of my labor....and God's grace. She's married, an extremely well educated SAHM and quite a fabulous one, if I do say so myself! But to me, she'll forever be the one that made me a Mom. My firstborn. The one I practiced on...the one that had to absorb most of my mistakes. A role model to scores of women…including me. The one that God gave to me on 12-12-88. God's undeserved gifts.
You're always Princess to me. Practically perfect. I love you. I am so proud of the woman God has grown you into that I could burst. I love being your friend. And your Mom. Happy Birthday.