Reason #73
One of the things I brought back from my trip to Hungary was chocolate candy. Now, for those of you who know me, you know I have quite a large sweet tooth and cannot resist chocolate. So, I've been saving this delicious Duplo bar...until tonight. And the Duplo bar is no more.
I'm a saver. I love to save things as little reminders. I think I have every birthday card I have ever been given since the age of 7. I have saved things from my childhood, my Beany Babies, my old cheerleading letter jacket and megaphone, high school yearbooks, letters and notes from those close to my heart, dolls, and strangest of all, my old teeth. That's right, I used to put my teeth in a little ring box when they fell out and I had those teeth forever. I finally parted with them. I don't know why I kept those teeth. I guess I was just hoping the tooth fairy might come back more than once.
You see, I kept these things for a reason, a purpose. I wanted to keep my dolls and cheerleading paraphernalia so that my future daughter could play with them. I wanted to keep the Beanie Babies so that one day, when they were worth millions, I could trade them in a be a millionaire. Unfortunately, everyone else had the same idea. I wanted to keep my yearbooks so I could go back and remember the people I went to school with, remember how I looked, how my friends looked. I wanted to keep the cards and letters because I am a lover of words and nothing means more to me than getting a heartfelt note. I wanted to be able to go back and read those precious words from the ones I love. And do you know what I've done with all of these things I deemed valuable and precious to me? I stuck them in boxes and put them in the top of my closet. Oh, but I have plans for them. Sure, they aren't doing me much good in a dust covered box, but I'll pull them out and dust them off one day...maybe.
And I realize how often I do this with God. He gives me something and I say, "Lord, thank you. This is so precious to me. This really means a lot to me, so I'm going to just stick it in this box full of other precious things you've given me and I'm going to save it for just the right time." So I place that box on the shelf and I walk past it and smile and say, "There's that box full of good things. I forgot that was there. I can't wait to take it down and use when the right time comes." So I leave it right where it is and move on because life is busy and time ticks by. And I forget about it until I walk by it at a later date, do the same thing, and then forget again. But I'll remember to get it down when the time has come.
I always think I'll know what I'm going to do with my boxes because I'm a planner. But what happens when I don't have that future daughter to play with her designated box of things I've saved for her? What happens if I don't live long enough to forget my high school years and need the yearbooks as reminders? What happens if I lose my eyesight and can't read those sweet notes and cards meant for me?
I've got boxes. I've gotten rid of boxes. And I found some boxes. Boxes I forgot I had. Boxes of things He had given me that I didn't use because I just knew I'd need them at a different time. Oh, how I missed some of those things because I put them in a box, and some of those things can't be salvaged because they were boxed up for too long. I confined them, packed them away, labeled them and they did me no good covered in dust. So I pulled the box down and I started pulling out the precious things inside because now is the time to use them. Those things weren't given to me for future use. No, they were given to me to be used on a daily basis. A testimony. Obedience. Faith. Forgiveness. Hope. Relationships. Perseverance. Just a few of the things I've pulled from the box. And He's reminding me how to use them. Reminding me of the value in them. Reminding that He is not limited to cardboard and packing tape.
#73 - Because He cannot be boxed in!
I'm a saver. I love to save things as little reminders. I think I have every birthday card I have ever been given since the age of 7. I have saved things from my childhood, my Beany Babies, my old cheerleading letter jacket and megaphone, high school yearbooks, letters and notes from those close to my heart, dolls, and strangest of all, my old teeth. That's right, I used to put my teeth in a little ring box when they fell out and I had those teeth forever. I finally parted with them. I don't know why I kept those teeth. I guess I was just hoping the tooth fairy might come back more than once.
You see, I kept these things for a reason, a purpose. I wanted to keep my dolls and cheerleading paraphernalia so that my future daughter could play with them. I wanted to keep the Beanie Babies so that one day, when they were worth millions, I could trade them in a be a millionaire. Unfortunately, everyone else had the same idea. I wanted to keep my yearbooks so I could go back and remember the people I went to school with, remember how I looked, how my friends looked. I wanted to keep the cards and letters because I am a lover of words and nothing means more to me than getting a heartfelt note. I wanted to be able to go back and read those precious words from the ones I love. And do you know what I've done with all of these things I deemed valuable and precious to me? I stuck them in boxes and put them in the top of my closet. Oh, but I have plans for them. Sure, they aren't doing me much good in a dust covered box, but I'll pull them out and dust them off one day...maybe.
And I realize how often I do this with God. He gives me something and I say, "Lord, thank you. This is so precious to me. This really means a lot to me, so I'm going to just stick it in this box full of other precious things you've given me and I'm going to save it for just the right time." So I place that box on the shelf and I walk past it and smile and say, "There's that box full of good things. I forgot that was there. I can't wait to take it down and use when the right time comes." So I leave it right where it is and move on because life is busy and time ticks by. And I forget about it until I walk by it at a later date, do the same thing, and then forget again. But I'll remember to get it down when the time has come.
I always think I'll know what I'm going to do with my boxes because I'm a planner. But what happens when I don't have that future daughter to play with her designated box of things I've saved for her? What happens if I don't live long enough to forget my high school years and need the yearbooks as reminders? What happens if I lose my eyesight and can't read those sweet notes and cards meant for me?
I've got boxes. I've gotten rid of boxes. And I found some boxes. Boxes I forgot I had. Boxes of things He had given me that I didn't use because I just knew I'd need them at a different time. Oh, how I missed some of those things because I put them in a box, and some of those things can't be salvaged because they were boxed up for too long. I confined them, packed them away, labeled them and they did me no good covered in dust. So I pulled the box down and I started pulling out the precious things inside because now is the time to use them. Those things weren't given to me for future use. No, they were given to me to be used on a daily basis. A testimony. Obedience. Faith. Forgiveness. Hope. Relationships. Perseverance. Just a few of the things I've pulled from the box. And He's reminding me how to use them. Reminding me of the value in them. Reminding that He is not limited to cardboard and packing tape.
#73 - Because He cannot be boxed in!
“Don’t store up treasures here on earth, where moths eat them and rust destroys them, and where thieves break in and steal. Store your treasures in heaven, where moths and rust cannot destroy, and thieves do not break in and steal. Wherever your treasure is, there the desires of your heart will also be." -Matthew 6:19-21