When I was quite young, maybe seven, my family vacationed in the Wild West. We stopped at a huge roadside store in the middle of nowhere. While still in the car, our parents told us we could choose anything we wanted as a souvenir. Of course, the three of us headed straight for cheap junk.

Choices

My younger brother chose a tom-tom.  My older brother picked a fake war bonnet. And me? I headed straight for a pink plastic case of make-up with Wild West sticker. Our horrified parents presented more acceptable options. One brother gave in and agreed to a hand-tooled leather belt. But I, full of righteous indignation, insisted that they promised we could have anything we wanted. I refused to look at the turquoise jewelry Mom dangled before me.

Reasoning not an Option

I can feel my younger self, arms tight across the chest, chin lifted, and foot stomping. A kid in the midst of a temper tantrum cannot be reasoned with. I wonder what my parents could have done to bring me back to my rational mind?

My compliant brother got his tom-tom along with the leather belt. I smoldered at this injustice, but, I did get the make-up kit. Back in the car, I tore open the package and found…..nothing but plastic. It was fake, pretend make-up, not the real thing I’d imagined and expected.

Insisting

Sometimes I still insist on my own way, refusing to even look at the better choices God offers. Perhaps what I think I want is just as phony as that fake make-up. The Bible says God has blessings stored up for those who love him.* What am I forfeiting by insisting on my own way? Our rational minds are a gift from God. What can I do for myself to re-engage rational thought?

Unexpected

In an old jewelry box, I found a pair of earrings and a small turquoise ring that fits my pinkie finger. I don’t remember them, but I wonder. Did my parents buy what they wanted me to have in spite of my behavior? Does our heavenly Father give us what he wants us to have? Are we too obsessed with our desires to see the wonders we’ve already been given? What blessings hide like the ring in my jewelry box?

Comments Welcome!

Have you experienced situations like this? I’d love to hear about your unexpected blessings and your solutions to unreasonable children.

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*Bible references: Psalm 31:19: How great is your goodness, which you have stored up for those who fear you, which you bestow in the sight of men on those who take refuge in you.

Isaiah 64:4: Since ancient times no one has heard, no ear has perceived, no eye has seen any God besides you, who acts on behalf of those who wait for him.

1 Corinthians 2:9: No eye has seen, no ear has heard, no mind has conceived what God has prepared for those who love him.