Gifts and Inconvenience

Gifts...
The thoughtfulness of others blows me away. After my bridal shower several months ago, my mother-in-law printed her entire address book on labels and gave them to me along with a batch of stamps and thank you notes. Her gift jump-started my wedding-thank-you writing and though, months later, I am still working on my thank you's, I have learned so much from that simple gift. Oh that someday I may be the kind of woman who thinks of creative ways such as this to minister to someone else. Because it's not necessarily what you give that means the most, but the manner and creativity with which you give.

Inconvenience...
Yesterday, our kitten Phoebe decided she was going to make it impossible for me to write in my journal. "So much for devotions..." I thought as she plopped her furry self on the arm I was using to write with. And then it hit me... I had just been reading of when Nehemiah came to the king and shared his sorrow over the splintered remains of his people and their holy city. Just like Nehemiah had come to the King, she was drawing near, which was exactly what I was trying to do to my King. I have the same kind of access to the throne room as Phoebe did to my lap. She longed for companionship and love, so she just came. Devotions is not a casual walk-in, but a part of an intimate relationship rich and full. God is not inconvenienced by me. Praise Jesus, HIS Son, I am not an interruption to His day but a welcome part of His eternity.