Christmas was fast approaching and every time I asked the boys what they wanted for Christmas, I got a shrug of the shoulders and a “I don’t know Mom” answer. And then a few days before Christmas, Chase announced he wanted a computer. Immediately I explained that wasn’t in the budget, he’d have to try again. But he assured me the one he wanted was affordable, and it was all he wanted.
We looked it up, it was a Chromebook. And it was affordable. But I didn’t make any promises. Even if I was going to get it, I was going to make him sweat it out a bit, afterall, it was Christmas. He needed to be surprised!
But I went online the next day, did my research and by the end of the day, two new Chromebooks were ordered and assured of Christmas delivery and my heart was happy. Both boys would get new computers. I knew this Christmas would be extra special for them. Computers were a given ‘good gift’.
But on Christmas morning, Carson opened his, played with it for about 20 minutes, closed the lid and it sat on the table the rest of the day. Chase did play on his on and off during the day, but the next morning he came to me and confessed that it really wasn’t what they wanted. Could I take them back?
Ouch … that hurt. Here I was thinking I had gotten them just what they wanted, and they did. But once they received them, they realized they weren’t what they wanted afterall.
They still had their old computers, it was easy to return the new ones, no harm, no foul. But had I gotten rid of their old computers, it might have been a different story
This is a wonderful illustration of our lives. We think we want a new car, a new home, a new job, maybe even a new spouse. But once we get what we think we want, we may realize that it really isn’t the thing that is going to make us happy.
Sometimes the result is the same as our computer situation … no harm, no foul. But sometimes, we throw away a part of our life that God wants us to hang onto. Sometimes we hurt people in the process. And sometimes, we actually destroy what we had seeking something that never will be.
In Matthew 6:33, Jesus tells us that if we seek God first, the rest of our lives will fall into place. Why do we have it backwards?
My desire is to not get caught up in the things of this world. My desire is to seek God first.
Today I will choose to seek God.
Lessons from Life 