Sparkly Boxes in Loving Hands - Crosswalk the Devotional - December 8
Sparkly Boxes in Loving Hands: Our God Gives Generously
By Debbie McDaniel, Crosswalk.com Writer
"If you then, being evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your Father who is in heaven give what is good to those who ask Him!” Matthew 7:11
My sweet husband had taken the kids shopping one day - to buy some gifts.
I heard them come home, bustling through the door. My 7 yr. old Gracie quickly found me, shining with excitement. "Mom," she breathed, "We found some surprises for you, but don't even ask me what they are, because I am not going to tell you."
Pause.
She went on, "I'm not telling you what it is, but I will say this, and only this - it has a beautiful heart," she gushed on, showing me the design with her hands, "and it goes right here," she pointed around her neck, "but I can't talk about it Mom, so don't ask me anything else!"
Smile.
She disappeared for a moment, but quickly came back, "And I will show you just this one thing, but don't ask anything else. This, Mom, is the sparkly little box it goes in, but I'm not showing you what's in it!"
She held it up proudly.
Sparkly box held lovingly in sweet, little hands. She couldn't wait to give her gift, to "surprise" me.
Often, I think maybe God must feel like my Gracie, longing to give us that "gift," that something really special we've prayed and longed for, knowing the exact day it’s to be given. And though we can't see how it will all unfold, He knows, and can hardly wait for it to be ours.
He's keeping safe all the "sparkly boxes" for just the right moment. Storing them up.
To give.
He loves to give good gifts to us. He loves to lavish love over us.
Don't ever doubt it. His heart is for you.
Yet maybe sometimes we can know that in our heads, but it doesn’t really connect, down deep, in our hearts.
And we might start to feel forgotten, like we've missed it somehow, or wasted too much time.
Life gets hard some days. The way looks dark. The journey seems long. We experience deep grief, hardships, or troubles. There’s obstacles and strife. God feels distant. Life is broken. And sometimes, it even shatters, it feels beyond repair.
Yet God in His grace and goodness whispers our way, "There's more in store...I have more still ahead...I can't wait for you to see..."
If we're living and breathing air today, we can rest assured, He still has more.
Thankful to our God, who holds great surprises, like sparkly boxes in loving hands. Who never wastes our tears and pain, but brings deeper beauty and purpose through any brokenness we bear.
No matter what we face today, we can keep moving forward, with expectation, gratefulness, and joy…in all that awaits.
Grace.
Intersecting Faith & Life: Choose today to give thanks to God for every gift He’s given you, for every way He continues to work in your life. Thank Him in advance for what He still holds in store. Focus your heart on trusting Him today, believing that He gives good gifts to His children.
Further Reading: Psalm 31:19, Ephesians 3:20-21
Find more by Debbie at www.debbiemcdaniel.com, https://www.facebook.com/DebbieWebbMcDaniel/, https://www.instagram.com/debbiemcdaniel/ or https://twitter.com/debbmcdaniel.
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