Today is Tuesday, May 27th, 2008; Karen's Korner #1322
Forwarded to me by Mary & Al Tesdahl, written by Anne Graham Lotz, one of Billy Graham's daughters:
"One year for my birthday, my mother sent me a package wrapped in plain brown paper. When I opened it, there was a gaudy, multicolored straw basket inside, stuffed with tissue paper. I tossed out the tissue paper and wondered what in the world I was going to do with the basket. When I called to thank her, she asked what I thought about what was inside it. I told her nothing was inside except tissue paper, and I had thrown that out. She said,'Oh, no, Anne! Inside that tissue paper is your real birthday gift!'"
"What priceless treasure are you in danger of throwing out, simply because of the way it is packaged? Sometimes God wraps His glory in hard circumstances or ugly obstacles or painful difficulties and it just never occurs to us that within those unwanted, unwelcomed, unexpected, unplanned situations is a fresh revelation of
Himself.
"Is God trying to pry open the eyes of your heart so He can show you His glory? Are you so focused on the outer wrappings...the pressure and the problems, the failure and the fatigue, the "what ifs" and the "if onlys" that you are in danger of missing or even throwing away the fresh, personal revelation of Himself that He wants
to give you?!
"Unwrap the package! Let go, and look up! Let Him open the eyes of your heart. Prayerfully, expectantly, sincerely, open your eyes to Him! "
"Lord, give us eyes to see you in the midst of our desert, darkness, storm and mountainsized hardship. Then open our eyes and help us look expectantly for You. Amen."
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