Surprise!

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"It's the most shopping lines time of the year.
Where the holiday shoppers with coats, bags, and squalors are standing too near..."

I've been out shopping...enough said!

Anyone out in any store at this time of year knows what it's like. Even in the middle of a weekday afternoon there are long lines snaking down the aisles. It is Christmas which means everyone is out doing more shopping then they ever do because it's time to get gifts and for my kids this year that is a problem.

My teenage son wants a computer (which is not going to happen) and that's all he wants so then what do you get the kid who has everything? It's bad enough when you know what you want to get and are trying to find it but it's even trickier when you don't even know what you are out there looking for!

So I've been running through ideas in my mind, along the lines of something similar to what he already has: books, clothes, video games, computer software, Nerf and Lego stuff...and nothing was working. There is no new variation of something familiar that would be a good gift.

And then it happened; I was in a store and walked by a display and there it was, the perfect gift. It's fun, it complements his interests and abilities, he'll love it, and (most importantly, for mom) it’s not the price of a computer...Hooray!

“No eye has seen, no ear has heard, no mind has conceived what God has prepared for those who love him” I Corinthians 2:9

I had no idea this perfect gift existed because it was something I hadn't seen before, but just because I wasn't aware of it didn't mean it wasn't out there.

Our vision is limited by what we've already experienced or seen happen in the lives of those close to us. We’ve imagined all the variations of the familiar and frankly, they're not all that exciting but this verse tells us that our minds can't even conceive of what God has in store for us!

Can you even imagine?
Silly question! The answer is "No", we can't even imagine what God's plans are.

He has something out there that is unlike all we've already known.
Something that will thrill us: that complements the gifts and interests He's given us. Something we're going to love for He made our hearts and He knows how to touch them.


What opportunities, blessings, gifts, and experiences does God have in store for you this season? for next year? for the rest of your life into eternity?

I don't know, but I do know that when God says "Surprise!" to those who love Him, He has the perfect gift. (James 1:17)

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