The Extra Gift Card

My sons knew I would be excited to receive a gift card from Hobby Lobby (my favorite store) this Mother’s Day so when they didn’t get a “thank you call” back from Mom, Daniel reached out to ask if I had gotten it. Even though he had ordered it to be sent to me in plenty of time; I had not received it. We agreed to wait a few more days but nothing came.

“I’ll check on it,” Daniel said. Later that week, he texted…”They’re not sure what happened but they have sent out another one and you should have it in a few days.”

With the gift card in hand, I found just what I wanted on my visit to Hobby Lobby – a grassy wreath to encircle a small shelf I already had hanging beside the Terry Redlin print in my living room.

Three weeks later, I was surprised and delighted to find another Hobby Lobby gift card in my mailbox. I chuckled to myself, wondering where this original card had been hanging out these last few weeks. Always loving a good bargain my mind immediately went to this thought – “what a wonderful extra blessing!”

A few days later my thoughts again returned to the gift card. I began to contemplate what I might purchase at Hobby Lobby on my next trip to Rapid City. And then, another thought… one I hadn’t invited… weaseled it’s way into my head. What if I had given a check to a friend and they came to me saying they had lost it. Because I trusted this friend, I wrote them another check, knowing they would destroy the first one if they later were to find it. Ouch! I tired to rationalize it away – Hobby Lobby is a big corporation…they’ll never miss it. Maybe this was really meant to be a blessing for me. Who wouldn’t do the same thing? None of it worked. Hobby Lobby might not be what I consider a “personal friend” but I do appreciate their Christian values and their policies. The least I could do was to do what I would want someone to do for me.

This situation reminded me of how effortlessly we can be tempted and then proceed on to justify the action. I came so close to placing my foot in the land of compromise without another thought. For a brief time, I hadn’t even wondered how God would see this. I am reminded of Psalms 24:4-5. Only those whose hands and hearts are pure….will receive the Lord’s blessing and have right standing with God. There is no comparison between having God’s blessing on my life and having new decor on my walls. Aren’t we fortunate we have a Holy Spirit that speaks words of wisdom to us and guides us on the right path when we walk in His ways?

Until next time…keep on readin’ and I’ll keep on writin’.