Don't just play with the box

During Fall break this year, I had the bright idea to build a swing set for our kids. (That story coming soon!) I had the idea, my patient hubby had the muscle and after 2 days of work the kids had a play structure. Two days of getting materials, digging holes, setting concrete, trips back to town for more materials, sore arms, yada, yada, yada. Finally, it was done! After a brief exploration of the items on the structure, my little dude runs to the shed where we have piled broken outdoor toys to be thrown away, hauls them back to the new play area and proceeds to play with the old stuff. That was, well, less exciting than I thought. I looked at my dear hubby and said, " You know what this is? This is the kids opening their gifts on Christmas morning and playing with the box all day!"

​In the spirit of trying to be more "in the moment", I just enjoyed the sense of accomplishment, high fived my guy and we played outside with our kids. As the day went on, and since I have been trying to be more mindful of God in the everyday things, I recognized a parallel. My mind worked like this :

​ Parents + gift + children = children + box the gift came in - gift
​ God + gift + children = children + box containing gift - gift

​Christmas Day is now right around the corner, so my thoughts are back to gifts and wrappings. God our Father, gave us the best gift ever, Salvation! I think we all can agree on that. Sometimes though, do you think God watches us, going about our day, posting our cute Bible verse cards on Pinterest or FaceBook , showing up for church but barely opening our Bibles in the times between and thinks to himself, " You're just playing with the wrapping, not cherishing the gift." This was a "take stock" moment for me. I sometimes get so busy, go through the motions of day to day that I forget priorities. I like to say God is first, but is He more of an afterthought? Am I guilty of opening a gift, setting it to the side and playing with the outward wrappings? Do I want to hit the highlights of God's Word or do I want to dig in and find answers to my questions and have a relationship with the Gift Giver?

​As always, I am examining my own heart. Maybe you can relate, maybe you can encourage. There is always room for improvement in our walk with God but we are not guaranteed time. Let's encourage each other every day to pick up our gift and not toss it to the side.