Returning gifts: DON'T do it to this Person!

Long lines of people in the stores, returning gift-after-gift, things that didn't fit, were the wrong color, or any of several excuses provided...simply because he/she didn't really want the gift, and plans to get something else with the refund money!

That's part of the commercialized holidays.  Returning gifts and getting cash or credit back to use as one likes.  OK, but don't try to do that with God!  "It was nice of You, God; I mean, it's the thought that counts, right?  But I really don't think this is something I can use...it doesn't fit my life.  But...thanks anyway!"

God gives us so many gifts, but we don't always appreciate them.  Yet they are the best things that He could ever let into our lives. Do you think He loves you so little or so carelessly that He'd give you something that didn't work or was of no use?

"It doesn't fit, Lord; it's the wrong size.  And I don't really like the way it looks one me."
GOD:  Don't worry.  Once you accept it, I can make all the parts mesh together so well that you'll find it was tailor-made for you.

"It's the wrong color, Lord.  This shade doesn't really show me to advantage.  Got it in another color?"
GOD: Don't worry  Once you accept it, I can sharpen your perception so that you can see it through my eyes and wonder why you ever though it wouldn't suit you.

"Um...I'm not sure if I'll ever need that...I mean, what use is it to me?"
GOD: How about asking to what use you can put it for others?  By the way, when you use the gift to help someone else, you'll find you are blessed, too.  (It's a pretty neat side-effect, if I say so Myself.)
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Here are a couple of reasons why I think we don't always appreciate God's gifts, and either ignore them or waste them...or even tell Him He must have made a mistake:

1) His gifts don't always coincide with OUR idea of what we need and want, we're wary and we tend to stick to the more familiar and "safe" side of things.  (As if being in God's hands weren't the safest place one could ever be!)

2) We don't always recognize his gifts when they come. Our human-ness makes it impossible to fully understand and perceive what God gives us and why.

When these doubts (and, yes, sometimes excuses) about what God does through, to and for us, clear up and our soul can see a little more into the heart of our loving God, then we realize that each gift is a perfect fit, is exactly the right color, and enriches our lives (and those of others) through its use.
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As we start a new year, may God help us all be more attentive to what He's doing, so we can appreciate how He makes everything "work together for good", and neither waste nor question his made-to-measure gifts. They come from a God who loves us more than we could ever imagine.

                                                   HAPPY NEW YEAR!!

I Never Saw a Purple Cowry...

We were at the beach on Padre Island (Texas) and went into a gift shop.  I have always loved cowry shells, and was surprised to see some that were purple.  I've never seen a purple cowry before.  They fascinated me, so I bought a couple.

What I found out about them was most interesting.  I don't know if it is so in every species, but in the "tiger cowry", the outer shell has the typical pattern of brown and black spots. The purple layer is underneath, and in order to bring out the beautiful color of the lower layer, the shells are dipped in acid, stripping away part of the outer layer and reaching the purple.  The purple is there, and part of the shell, but it isn't visible on the surface.  An effort must be made so that the purple will show...where it can be seen and appreciated.
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Something like that happens when God wants to refine us and bring out the beauty that He is creating in each one of us. It can't always be seen on our imperfect surface - our imperfect "top layer" - so He uses testing and trials to strip away some of the top layer so that He can work on the inner layer, step-by-step revealing our "purple".

Here's another analogy to make the same point: "For You, God, tested us; You refined us like silver."  (Psalm 66:10)

I recently read of a woman who decided to talk to a silversmith and ask him about this process.  He told her he couldn't just leave the silver boiling, checking it every-once-in-a-while.  He had to keep a constant eye on the crucible, as too much heat could ruin the silver. When she asked him how he could tell that the purifying process was complete, he replied that he knew it was ready when he could see his image reflected in the silver.

We may dislike going through acid baths, so-to-speak, (or being melted in crucibles), but we must remember that when God's purifying process in us is complete, His image will be seen reflected in us. Here in this life, no one reflects His image perfectly - though some reflect more of it than others.  But that is the goal towards which God works, the goal we should all yearn for.

"And after you have suffered a little while, the God of all grace, who has called you to his eternal glory in Christ, will Himself restore, confirm, strengthen, and establish you."  (I Peter 5:10)

And then...your "purple" will show!

"I always put my underwear on backwards..." (Eli...who else?!)

Eli on my shoulders (Liliana on the couch and Miriam in the background).

One morning, I realized I had put my slacks on backwards.  At the dinner table, I mentioned it to the children, saying that adults sometimes get things turned around, too...not just kids.  At this, Eli (who just turned 5) exuberantly told us, with that impish, fun-loving grin of his,  "I always put my underwear on backwards...it happens every time!"  I guess that the desire to make Abuelita feel better was more important than being embarrassed himself.  Thanks, Eli!  You made us all laugh, and you did make me feel better!
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Maybe Eli's perspective should be emulated much more frequently than it is.  Even if we know that sharing something we did wrong or messed up on might make another person feel less discouraged and that someone understands, we're often too embarrassed to admit it!  (Commiserate with the other guy...but don't let on that you've done it, too!)

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 I love II Corinthians 1:4.  "He {God} comforts us in all our troubles so that we can comfort others.  When they are troubled, we will be able to give them the same comfort God has given us."  It seems like some of the trials we go through have a special purpose of helping us to understand and sympathize with others...because we've been through the same thing as they.  We know how it hurts...or frustrates...or embarrasses...or makes one feel inadequate....and we know what will probably be the most helpful things to say to them or do for them.  We know how God comforted us...and we can "pass it on".

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We have spent two lovely weeks in San Antonio with Dan, KC, Noe, Micah and Eli.  For one of those weeks, Debbie and her family were here and we had Thanksgiving,  a "pre-Christmas" and a lot of activities, laughs, fun and love. (Dan's kids were thrilled, since Debbie's girls are their only cousins.  So when "the cousins" arrive, it's a special event!)   Tomorrow we fly northwards, to spend 3 1/2 weeks with Debbie, Steve, Liliana and Miriam in northern Indiana.  (We're trying to pack things as economically as possible...can't get over having to pay for the first checked bag!)
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I hope you all had an awesome Thanksgiving, and rejoice in all the preparations for the celebration of Jesus' coming to Earth as Christmas draws near!