Happy New Year!
One of the highlights of Christmas this year also sheds a little light on what I think we can expect from God in the coming year.
It was my son’s gift to his sister.
David loves to give gifts. I’m sure it’s his “language of love.” For Mother’s Day, he bought me a wonderful digital camera. This Christmas, he bought Christine an ipod.
I think what he loves most of all is the look of surprised joy when the recipient opens the present: “You bought this for ME?!”
That’s probably why he wrapped Christine’s ipod in a very special way. Knowing she would immediately guess if he just wrapped the package it came in, he put it in a bigger box. Wrapped it. Then he put that into a very large box and wrapped it (all by himself, I might add).
Yes, she was surprised–and joyful.
I can’t help but think that God likes to do something very similar with us.
As I reflect back on the highlights of 2009, it’s been an amazing year of unexpected abundant gifts for me. God has taken me places I never dreamed I’d be, and I’ve met so many wonderful people I never expected to meet.
Healed in ways I never dreamed were possible….
With God, I’m discovering, we need to expect the unexpected!
And sometimes, the blessings come disguised in packages that look like anything but blessings. Unemployment. Loss of health. Struggles and heartaches of all kinds.
In the coming year, I will be sharing some of what I’m learning particularly about “disguised gifts.” These lessons have been some of the greatest blessings of the past year for me. (You might want to make sure you’re subscribed to this blog.)
Another source of the richest blessings for me has been simply getting into God’s Word, for myself and for others as I write the Encouraging Words and Abundant Gifts from the Word free email devotionals. The Bible daily astonishes me by its relevance; it truly is a living Word, as the Holy Spirit applies it to our personal situations in amazing ways.
It’s also been an abundant gift to receive emails from people who say that God’s Word, or my word, spoke to their hearts on a particular day. That is God at work!
If you have not signed up yet for Abundant Gifts from the Word (no cost, you can unsubscribe any time), I encourage you to do so:
http:/www.abundantgiftsfromtheword.com
And if you had signed up but have somehow stopped getting them, please sign up again. I discovered a glitch that made these daily devotional stop after a couple of months. I have plenty to share, so sign up again and keep it coming!
One thing I know for sure: His blessings will come, if we’re open to them. And they often come in unexpected packages.
May 2010 be full of abundant, mind-bending blessings!