Saturday, January 24, 2009

Choosing your gifts

At church last Sunday, we were in prayer and when I lifted my head, an older man came to me and said "You're going to have a great week. God is telling me that good things are going to happen." I was gracious but skeptical, of course.

Right away, I start imagining what might happen, MY interpretation of what a good week would look like: I meet "the one," my AdvoCare business starts to soar and money starts rolling in, I get an unexpected windfall that will wipe out all of my debt, I'll get a call from the doctor that yes, that extra 40 pounds I'm carrying IS indeed a benign tumor that can easily be removed with no visible scarring, yada yada yada.

It's amazing how when someone tells us they have a gift for us we right away start trying to predict what that might be. Then when we DO receive it, we're often disappointed because it isn't what we'd hoped for. It's a perfectly good gift; it's just not what WE wanted. Sometimes the gift is even BETTER than we could have imagined but we can't see that through our tears of disappointment.

God's gifts are the same. Our prayers are for one thing and He provides us with something else. Ultimately, His gifts are better because His plan is better. I just need to stop making my list and be happy with His.

Truth is, that is MUCH easier said than done.

1 comment:

Heather said...

Amen...it is hard to look past our own wants and desires and to align our will with His. I will pray that you will receive the gifts He gives with great thanksgiving and joy no matter your expectations! :)