A Day in the Life

It was an unbelievable shopping trip. I started at Macy's designer clothing section and chose my favorite outfits. Then I picked up a couple bottles of cologne and some new cosmetics. I outfitted my linen closet with fresh towels and sheets, and tossed in a chic new loveseat (delivered next week) for my family room.

Turning right outside Macy's I picked up the diamond ring at Kay's I'd been drooling over, and then I stopped at the Shoebox and grabbed a pair of walking shoes, some sensible flats, and a pair of snappy dress shoes.

Then I snatched up a bag full of body lotions and room fresheners at Bath and Body, and swooped into Cinnabon for a dozen cinnamon rolls to go for breakfast the next morning.

The cost? Nothing. 

It happened in my imagination. 

And it got me thinking. 

What if this was my life? Would a shopping trip like this be exciting if I could do it whenever I want? Or is it exciting because I can't?

I got to thinking about God, and why He often parcels out blessings a little at a time. Think manna from heaven, and how it came each day. The Israelites couldn't stash it in their coolers or dry it for using next week. Some tried, but it didn't work. They really didn't know if the manna would come every morning, though that is exactly what did happen. 

I have been struggling through the expense of my daughter's wedding. I have no available savings and bit by bit, almost daily, things have been taken care of, sometimes in ways I could not have imagined. I do not know if it will all be provided for. I trust and hope so, but I have no special claim on God's provision. After all, innocent people are being beheaded, dying of cancer, contracting Ebola and a myriad of other catastrophes befall mankind perpetually. 

I also thought about how God, who is timeless, could have gifted us with our life all at once, as He experiences reality, but instead He gave us the gift of life in the day-tight compartments we all sometimes take for granted. Apparently one day at a time is the best way.

After I had glutted my imagination with a dream shopping trip, I had a sudden thought. 'I should get something for my husband.' Not once had I thought of shopping for anyone but myself. Well, I may have shared the cinnamon rolls. And even now it was guilt not pure altruism that brought me to think of him. I'd rather not share this with you, but I suspect I am not totally alone.

His mercies are new every morning. It's a good thing. I'll be needing a fresh supply each day.

Why We Love Christmas

There's something at work in the world that holds a  magnetic attraction for people everywhere. Children, teenagers and adults are not immune.

This 'something' leads us to create an ever increasing variety of recipes, adding, changing the ingredients to make something new. We aren't sure what it's going to taste like until it's completed. The same hunger keeps us reading a good book. We want to find out how it ends. The secretive nature of a good story, whether on the screen or told by the fireside, is irresistible.

Consider what a world it would be if each day we saw played for us the exact events of the following day. Few of us would choose this!

 A wedding between virgins promises a far more thrilling honeymoon than the other kind. Though though we have done much to make it so, the womb is not transparent.  We cannot see the child within until it is born.

The discovery of the unknown has fueled much of the amazing inventions of the past centuries, and continues to propel us into the future. Our great love affair with surprise has funded the lotteries, and boosted the economy every December.

The whole world loves surprises. Good ones, of course.  We are all like children when it comes to being surprised; it is intrinsic to our human experience.

Gifts are wonderful, but a gift, unwrapped,  is not nearly as exciting as the thrill of discovering what is under the wrapping. This is why we love Christmas. Not only are we amazed that God himself came to visit us as a baby, but our gratitude overflows in gifts, in surprises to each other.

 GK Chesterton said, "We can increase the good we do to others by adding the element of surprise."

Consider how you might insert the magic of surprise into your everyday personal and business relationships!