I didn’t even know I needed that!

My God shall supply all my need according to his riches in glory by Christ Jesus.

(Philippians 4:19)

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One of the most disappointing Christmases I ever had was the year a big heavy box showed up under the tree with my name on it.

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Our imagination is a wonderful tool but it can also set us up for big disappointments.

I would look at the present and imagine what it was.  I would pick it up and delight in its heaviness.  Wow!  What could it be?

It was my senior year in High School and big heavy stereos were all the rage in those days and I wanted one so badly.  So me and my imagination determined that that had to be what it was. 

Needless to say, it was one of the anticipated Christmas mornings of my life.  I could hardly wait!

So imagine my disappointment when it came my time to open my “special” present and it turned out to be a big heavy green manual typewriter.  That’s right, a typewriter.

Like a good son, I swallowed my disappointment and managed to work up a hypocritical thank you, but I’ll not forget that big letdown to my dying day.

But…

My parents knew something that I did not know.  They knew I needed that typewriter. 

My last semester in High School I finished second in the entire school in typing (this was back in the days when most boys never learned to type).

I lugged that typewriter off to college where I not only was able to type my own term papers but picked up some extra money typing other people’s term papers.

And neither my parents or me could have imagined the new keyboard world I would be transitioning into post college. 

Turns out, in spite of my initial disappointment, my loving parents were right…I needed that typewriter.  It ended up being one of the most significant gifts I ever received for Christmas.

To this day I am grateful that my parents had the foresight to look into my future and give me something that would make my life so much better and so much more productive.

And that leads me the ONE THING for today…

The ONE THING for today: What if you looked at the disappointments and challenges you are currently going through as something being used by a loving Father God who knows you need what you’re going through in order to be prepared to experience a better and more fulfilling future?

That doesn’t mean you have to like or enjoy what you’re going through, but it does mean you can grow through it and be better for it.  

And that’s good news no matter how disappointed you may be at the moment!