toss the receipt

every day is a gift, some days we wish we got a gift receipt... but does God mess up? WAS that a bad day? or did we chose to refuse to see the blessing. long story short, toss the receipt- there's no exchanges or returns, THAT is the day - the gift- you've been given. enjoy it.

"eVeRy DaY iS a GiFt"

I love that reminder when I'M the one waking up, giving a good stretch, and then saying it as if the day won't have a single hiccup and I'll seem like Mary Poppins just goin' about my day. 

When I'm in the thick of it, feel like NOTHING is going right, and people are fighting me at every turn... I don't welcome it nearly as much. I mean I know it's a gift... but I don't want to act like it's a gift. 

WHY I choose to sit in my dirty-diaper-of-a-mood is a conversation for another day--- but do you ever do that? Think your "gift" isn't a gift? Think it's ok to KNOW it's a gift and just act otherwise anyway? You know, to SIN like that?

If you read my last post (or any of my others), you should have noticed that I don't mind calling myself out in my short-comings. I used to mind!! But the older I get and more I grow in faith, I welcome the self-reflection and view it as an opportunity for 1 of 2 things to happen:

1. If I'm not struggling internally or wrestling with anything, I want to look at myself and my actions and adjust to be more like Jesus.

2. If I am on the struggle bus and can't exactly see the worthiness God sees, I want to look at myself and my actions and adjust to NOT go farther from Him.

Six of one, half-dozen of another... but that little shift in wording seems to really help me get closer- or not get farther- from the One who guards my heart. 

KNOWING what we should do/what God wants from us, then doing anything else-- is a sin. And I chose to sin. Until I tossed my receipt.

The day was sunny. It was pretty nice out; nice enough to roll the windows down and get some fresh air. Despite that beautiful day, I was frazzled: screaming kids, things didn't go smoothly getting them into the car, attitude at every turn, and HOW my eardrums survived the piercing "sonic boom screams" is still a mystery. But I thought that a coffee I couldn't make at home would fix everything. It did- but in a way only God can provide.

I sipped my coffee as my kids enjoyed their drinks in the back. Still fighting and laughing and giggling and babbling, but I just drove in silence trying to decompress before we got home. I was happy for the sounds coming from the back seat, but I was ALSO TIRED. Weary's probably a better word for it. I prayed that I could just snap out of this funk and be mom of the year when I got home. I don't know why I gave that power to a cup of coffee..... I'm not an idiot. I'm a believer?! I know ONLY GOD can do that... but here I was, and I wasn't proud of it. 

I kept praying. Talking in my head with the Lord. One thought led to another, and those led to a new prayers. I landed on that expression from above (no pun intended): Every day is a gift. 

I thought about gifts at a birthday party; how little kids get told "don't be rude!" when they open a savings bond for $1,000 and toss it aside just to open the dollar store toy (that'll break before bedtime) and squeal with delight. I was being that rude kid. God-very carefully and intentionally, mind you- CHOSE this gift for me and delivered it wrapped up beautifully in a sunrise. I decided I wanted something better, so I discarded it and was on to the next shiny thing. 

Then I saw the receipt for coffee. I instantly thought "gift receipt". I kept thinking of God... seeing me opening the gift He KNEW was full of so many things I needed AND wanted, and looking disappointed, so He offered me a gift receipt so I could exchange it. (I know this isn't how God works, but this is the movie that played out in my head.)

I couldn't IMAGINE actually telling God I didn't like or want His gift?!!? I mean it's one thing to talk about it, but to DO IT??! NOOOOOPE. In that movie playing out in my head, I quickly snatched the gift receipt out of His hand, threw it away and told Him that I won't be needing that because I am KEEPING the gift. 

It all came flooding together in my mind. I decided to toss the metaphorical gift-receipt for the the day I'd been given and not only keep, but treasure that gift. It didn't magically make my headache go away or the screaming and whining stop; but I now saw beauty in something just moments before I was ready to exchange- maybe even return!?

I'm not saying there aren't things I wish I could have a redo for, or that didn't even happen in the first place. What I am saying is that if it was worth buying in the first place, toss the receipt and trust in God's hassle-free, eternal warranty. If God gives you: something, someone, or an experience, trust that if/when it falls apart or breaks, He's right there with the upgraded version. No receipt required. 

You are the 1 He left the 99 for. Your gift of today is not anyone else's gift; treasure even the mundane.