It was February 14, 2002. Victoria’s
seven-year-old eyes slowly scanned the Valentine loot scattered on the kitchen
table. Pushing aside treat-filled plastic bags, small white envelopes bearing
her name,
and the wrappings of the candy that didn’t survive the ride home, she reached
for the large, red, heart-shaped box.
“And who is
this for?” she asked, her voice filled with hope that she was the intended
recipient.
“Sorry. I
bought it for your Dad,” I replied while thinking Victoria’s choice of the Whitman sampler was
pretty impressive.
“May I open
it?” she boldly questioned.
“Well…
okay,” I answered after deciding Michael wouldn’t mind. “Just don’t
lose the little map inside. It lets you know where each type of candy is
located.”
My husband
doesn't like surprises. With regards to candy - and to life - he wants to know what’s
in store for him before he sinks his teeth into it.
“Okay, I
won’t lose it,” she happily promised as I left the kitchen.
Moments after she had ripped the cellophane from the candy it had been
protecting, Victoria
found me in the study. Her solemn expression revealed that her next words
had been carefully chosen.
“I didn’t
lose the map,” she quietly began, then continued with a rush of words, “but I
dropped the box and all the candy fell out and I don’t know where any of it
belongs.”
In her
defense, I never told her not to drop the box, only to guard the
map. She followed me into the kitchen where we began to pick up the candy. The
bounty of strewn sweets dwindled as we attempted to return each piece to its
proper place. It was a difficult task, except for the cashews. It’s easy to
spot a nut, even when it is covered in chocolate and trying to masquerade as candy.
And so it
is with life…
Sometimes
we drop the box. The pieces of our lives are then in disarray and suddenly we
don’t know where anything belongs. Spouses, children, jobs, ministries,
hobbies, unspoken dreams, friends, and even nutty relatives (Did I write that or just think it?) vie for our attention.
Keeping my
priorities in order is an ongoing task for me. I am so grateful for my God Who
holds His map for me and helps me to take those sweet portions
of my life and return them to their proper place. Even the nuts.
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