For all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God, and are justified by his grace as a gift, through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus, Romans 3:23-24
I am a worrier. I come from a long line of worriers. We bite our nails, chew our lips, rub our eyes, and twirl our hair, all the while, worrying. We worry about big things like what a hurricane or fire might do to our homes. Which items would we take, which would we leave behind? From the time they are babies, we worry about our animals. How will we cope when they die? We worry about our children. Will they be happy? Will they find someone to love? We worry about our jobs. How long will we be able to work? Will our bosses appreciate our service? We even worry about dinner. Will our family mind having pizza? Again? You name it, we worry about it. It was natural for me, as I made Christmas gifts this year, to worry about what people would think. Will they think it was a chinzy offering? Something cheap and worthless? Will they think I should have spent more money, offered them a gift card or jewelry? Will my gift stand the test of time or will it fall apart the first time it was used? Every stitch, every cut, held worry. When I caught myself stressing out over my choice to make gifts instead of buy them, I sat down and evaluated my choice. I make gifts, not to save money (because craft materials are expensive!), but because at this stage of my life, time is more valuable than money. If I take the time to make you a gift, it is because I love you enough to stop everything else and focus on making something for you. If I hand you a gift card, it is given without care. I hope when you wear it, or see it, or use it, that you will remember that I cared enough about you to make something for you. It is a gift of love and fretting, worrying or second guessing, just devalues that gift. So, I quit worrying. It makes me think about the gift that God gave us. His only son, present at creation and sent in human form so that we would understand how much God loves us. Some appreciate the gift; some, not so much. But, God still gives, regardless of how we receive. Aren’t you glad He gave us a Savior instead of worrying about what we would think?
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