The Layers of Our Day
When our children were younger there were several times when we made an adventure out of giving them gifts. One Christmas in particular, we gave our son a guitar. Under the tree there was a medium-sized box with his name on it. It was beautifully wrapped with shiny Christmas paper and a big red bow. Our son was really excited about the gift but couldn’t guess what was inside. So, he enthusiastically started to unwrap it.
First the bow came off and was tossed into the air! Then the paper was ripped, crumpled and thrown aside with joyful abandon! He was so anxious to see what his gift was that he didn’t think too much about its wrapping. But, when our son opened the lid, he found there was another box inside! We all laughed and there was more excitement as the second box came out and he began to unwrap it as well. Our son went through the same routine – the bow flew into the air and the paper was crumpled and tossed aside. And yes…inside of this package, there was another box, which brought more laughter and smiles to all of us.
This continued through about four boxes until finally, inside the last box there was a card. When our son opened the card and read its inscription, he jumped up and ran to the garage. There, inside the trunk of my husband’s car was his new guitar! Our son was so excited about the guitar that he took it out and immediately began playing it. But, what was such a blessing to us was seeing the joy our son expressed as he opened each layer of his gift! It wasn’t simply the guitar, which brought a smile to his face; it was the entire process of opening the gift.
We should look at our life in the same way. Each day is a gift from God. It is full of surprises, blessings and new discoveries for us. When we wake up each morning we should take great pleasure in opening up the gift…layer by layer. For our God has given us the day to live and enjoy!
“This is the day that the Lord has made; let us rejoice and be glad in it!” (Psalm 118:24)
It is so easy to get into a rut. Our jobs, responsibilities, trials and general busyness in our lives distract us from the joy that God wants to reveal to us each day. But, as we slow down and breathe Him in, we can appreciate each blessing we receive.
“Every good and perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father of the heavenly lights, who does not change like shifting shadows” (James 1:17).
Our God is a gracious and generous God! He takes great pleasure in giving us gifts and we can count on everything that comes from Him to be good. Sometimes as we unwrap each day, we come upon some packaging that may be difficult to open. The tape might be exceptionally sticky, or the lid of the box too tight. But, when we continue to look to Him through all the layers of our day, trust and have faith, the joy found as we open His gift is great!
Praising Him for the joy in each day,
Bless you.