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There was a blind girl who hated herself because she could not see. She hated everyone, except her loving boyfriend. He was always there for her no matter whatever. She told her boyfriend, “If I could only see the world, I would marry you in a heartbeat.”  One day, someone donated a pair of eyes to her. When the bandages came off, she was able to see everything, including for the very first time her faithful boyfriend. He asked her, “Now that you can see the world, will you marry me?” The girl looked at her boyfriend and learned for the first time that he was also blind. The sight of his closed eyelids shocked her. She hadn’t expected that.  She had always thought that he could see. The thought of looking at his blindness the rest of her life led her to refuse to marry him. Her boyfriend left in tears and days later wrote a note to her saying, “Take good care of your eyes, my dear, for before they were yours, they were mine.”  He had given her a great gift born out of tremendous sacrifice to him and she had returned the favor by exiting as fast as she could. 

True love always involves sacrifice.  It isn’t real love if it doesn’t cost you your absolute best.  And to try to even perceive that you can love and not be hurt is pure foolishness for one of the fruits of the real deal is lasting and painful but positive scars. 

This is how the human brain often works when our status changes. Only a very few remember what life was like before, and who was always by their side in the most painful situations.  So often when we finally receive what we want- we too often forget what we really needed in the first place!  Maybe the unhappy person isn’t someone who didn’t get what he or she wanted. Perhaps the unhappy person is the one who got what he or she wanted and then found out that it wasn’t as wonderful as expected. 

As we tread into another hectic holiday season, what is it that you really want this Christmas?  Do you really know?  If you look close enough, could it be that you already own what you think that you might be looking for?  Reflect on this nugget for a moment: could it be that the best gift that you will ever receive is already your present?

Life Is a Gift!!! Today before you say an unkind word – think of someone who can’t speak. Before you complain about the taste of your food – think of someone who has nothing to eat. Before you complain about your husband or wife – think of someone who’s crying out to God for a companion. Today before you complain about life – think of someone who went too early to heaven. Before whining about the distance you drive think of someone who walks the same distance with their feet. And when you are tired and complain about your job – think of the unemployed, the disabled, and those who wish they had your job. And when depressing thoughts seem to get you down- put a smile on your face and think: “You’re alive and still around.”

One last story before I go. Late one night a father received the one phone call that parents dread the most, the one we all pray never comes. It was the highway patrol. A vehicle carrying four teenagers had spun out of control at high speed and rammed into a barrier. All the passengers had been killed. The officer on the phone said, “We believe your daughter may have been on of the victims.” Ashen-faced, the father drove to the hospital it identify the body of his beautiful girl, snuffed out in the prime of life. As he sat there in the emergency room with his head in his hands, grieving and shocked, he heard a police officer mention that alcohol was probably the culprit in this accident. Several broken whiskey bottles had been found in the wreckage beside the mangled bodies. Now the father had a focus for his frenzied anguish. He rose up in a rage and threatened to kill whoever had provided the four young people with liquor. He would find the guilty party, whatever it took!

Back home, overwhelmed by grief and rage, he stumbled into the kitchen and opened the cupboard where he kept his own supply of alcohol. There he found a note in his daughter’s handwriting. His heart leaped to his throat. The note read, “Dad, we’re taking along some of your liquor – I know you won’t mind”.

The people around us absorb how we live much more than what we say. Our lifestyle influences them more than our words. Our walk impacts them more than our talk. When our life is consistent with our words, it makes a difference in the lives of other. Jesus’ words had such an impact because His teachings were consistent with how He lived. His life matched His words, the crowds could utter, “No man ever spoke like this man because there was never a man who lived like He lived.” There was no gap between what Jesus said and how He lived. Skeptics may debate an idea, but they cannot deny God’s power in the awesome testimony of a changed life. When those closest to us see Christ’s love revealed in all our actions, they too will stand in awe of how great He is!

So today is a brand new day!  Don’t complain- commit to giving your best and let Jesus take care of the rest.  And be thankful, because when we live life like every good thing that happens in life is gravy- it makes the mashed stuff taste so much better!