Sunday, December 20, 2009

God in the Plans

Yesterday, which was Saturday, December 19, the last Saturday before Christmas, we did our Christmas shopping. Yes, apparently we are certifiably insane. We and hundreds of other parents who swarmed the stores. Knowing it was going to be nuts, I had my list all made out and knew what to get at each store for each child.

We got to Target, our first stop (yes, the kids were with us, forcing us to try and shop sneaky without the kids figuring it out). Target was packed and the shelves held almost none of what I was looking for. A few days earlier, I had found what I wanted, but by Saturday it as gone. Frustrated, stressed and overwhelmed, we left with one gift.

Joe suggested that we ditch most of my list and head to the hobby store. He argued that it wouldn't be as busy and we would find higher quality gifts that would inspire creativity in our kids. I'm not one to discard my lists and plans easily and it took a lot of convincing for me to relent. I was concerned that we'd spend more money at the hobby store, but off we went.

Once at the hobby store, we had a great time. We let the kids look around and got ideas for what interested them, then I watched them while Joe bought things and hid them in the car. The things we got were much better quality than we would have gotten elsewhere. I relaxed considerably and admitted that yes, my husband had been right.

Then he told me that he had prayed that morning that God would lead us in getting the right gifts for our kids. We were convinced that God had answered that prayer.

Why hadn't I thought of that? I think I have the materialistic "presents" side of Christmas so segregated from the spiritual "Jesus' birthday" side of Christmas. My wise husband invited God to be part of our plans to bless our children with gifts that would help them grow as well as remind them of the gift of Jesus.

Praise God that He wants to be in all of our plans, both those deemed 'spiritual' and those considered 'worldly'. When we walk with Him, all things are sacred and He wants to be involved in all of it.

May you invite Jesus to be Lord over all your plans this Christmas and always!

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