Rejection to Blessing

What I’m about to share has been such a valuable lesson learned.

We had a really sweet Christmas spent with loved ones, delicious food, and a strong sense of Jesus’ love because He’s the reason we celebrate this season.

Sounds pretty good so far right?

It was, until the Monday morning after Christmas arrived along with a certain Fed Ex drop-off to my house. I knew what it was before even opening the door to retrieve the delivery. It came in two packages actually and they were both decent sized.

My husband had been excitedly building me up for a Christmas gift that he had chosen for me — and even though it was coming a few days late he thoroughly expected me to share the same joy and an equal amount of excitement as he had about giving me this gift.

And now here it had come, perfectly intact and waiting to be opened…I, however, reluctantly placed the two boxes on the floor of my living room, wondering if at any point my anticipation of the contents would grow.

Here’s the secret…I knew what was in each of the boxes because in my husband’s two week long excitement he caved and told me what he’d gotten me…in the larger box sat a cricut (craft) machine and in the other box were all kinds of paper accessories and tools to be used with the machine.

You’d think with me being a craft junkie I’d have been bursting at the seams —that I would’ve flagged the Fed Ex guy down long before he turned onto my little dirt road, tore into his truck, and rifled through his deliveries, grabbed my boxes and had them opened and my cricut to use before making it back into my house!!

But that was not at all the case and here was my hang up…my mom has a Cricut and I make it a point to get together with her a few times a year (at her house) to make projects. It’s super special to me and I look forward to those times.

The thought of having my own Cricut overwhelmed me in the fact that I was nervous I wouldn’t use my own enough and that it would be a waste. Or that suddenly my love of going to my mom’s to ‘create’ may dissipate because I might as well use my own machine, at my own home.

I was also irritated because I’d wanted to cancel Internet after this pandemic stuff recedes and we wouldn’t need it for school anymore, but the Cricut only works with Internet so there went my hope of canceling soon and on top of that the Cricut uses a program in accordance with a monthly fee…for a thrifty spender this goes against all my self-made budget rules.

You guys I was a ridiculous mess because while those thoughts flooded my mind I also felt extremely guilty because here my amazing, thoughtful husband had just spent his own “fun money” on me and I was an unappreciative basket case…or more accurately a cold-hearted jerk.

Later that afternoon I finally had the boxes opened and the Cricut and accessories out but my whining sat on full display right along with my generous Christmas present.

Within hours I’d determined I wasn’t going to keep it, I’d package it up and ship it back to Cricut the next morning…I’d even emailed the company to tell them I needed a return started and I’d also contacted a woman who owns a local craft store to see if she had any interest in it. To send the boxes back was going to cost over $80 in shipping so my disappointment grew even more.

I went to bed annoyed of the Cricut…and myself just as much.

Tuesday morning I still felt the same but I was absolutely determined to have God help me see the big picture and sort out my crazy!!

I started thinking about how He gives me unconditional love, an abundance of mercy and grace, the ability to write, and blessing after beautiful blessing…time and time again. All of these most wonderful gifts God gives me graciously and without hesitation.

I know without a doubt I’ve taken any of those things for granted…more than once…more times than I can count.

And when I really think about it, it hurts my heart to think of people who aren’t believers — those who never accept, experience, or choose to receive God’s good gifts.

On top of all of that, God has also given me a charming husband who was so stoked to give me a Christmas present and yet my mindset was to push it away, just as I’ve done in my gifts from God at times.

…The funny part is I never heard from Cricut about returning the machine nor did the local craft store lady get back to me. These two things plus my mom speaking practicality to me validated that I should keep the Christmas gift and enjoy it!! Plus the internet has truly been helpful so it’ll stay as well — and mom and I are sharing the cost of the monthly Cricut program fee and it’s features.

The truth is none of us know how long we have on this earth. To not enjoy the blessings or gifts we receive from others and especially from God is absolutely foolish. (Side-note: Those are partial words from my mom’s wisdom that I gathered.)

I can choose to focus on petty earthly expectations and risk missing the blessings, or I can take a look at how God works through gifts of all sorts and enjoy seeing His goodness.

Although I am now thoroughly excited about my Cricut and currently have plans to make about a half a dozen things —most importantly is that it’s always the giver that’s the best part of our lives. And when we consider God’s giving to us we’re pointed to the love of Jesus…a gift that never runs dry and never disappoints.

Have you chosen to receive His gift?

Here are a few things I’ve made from my mom’s Cricut in the past:

Today I have plans to head over to my moms with my computer. I’ll create a few things there but then cut them from my own Cricut machine at home later on…so we’re still getting together, having fun, and creating crafts and memories! I’m looking forward to it!!

Take me to Alicia’s Etsy shop

If you’re interested in having a custom sign made, message me in my Etsy shop or on the blog I’d be happy to help!!❤️

Author: alimw2013

About For His Purpose~ My name is Alicia and I'm a thirty-something year old who loves Jesus. Only through God’s amazing grace and mercy I have been redeemed from past regret and shame. Reading His word has allowed me to look past Satan’s forceful lies, to see myself for who Christ says I am in Him. Through writing I have learned why I made the choices I made in my younger years and I now have a better understanding of why I desire to love God like crazy these days. Despite my daily failures, God remains faithful always. I am reassured of His unconditional love for me by every ink-drop spilled out on paper, each committed prayer as I cry out to Him, and deep understanding reflected through reading His word as truth. Yes keeping a blog will make me vulnerable to others’ opinions- there will be some who don’t understand, some who may criticize or judge, but on the other hand if just one piece expressed through my writing grabs someone’s attention and directs them to God, then pouring out my heart in a blog for the world to read is worth it. I choose to glorify Him alone through words streaming across a glowing screen. And it wouldn’t be fair if I didn’t reveal the fact that I’m incredibly quirky; I’m my loving husband’s best friend, my vivacious kids’ craziest cheerleader and spiritual trainer (3 John 1:4). I love anything farmhouse and rustic style. I think cupping a warm coffee mug in the palm of my hands is more satisfying than the contents within. I share a common obsession with my husband for the mountains, but I would (without a doubt) settle for waves crashing against my legs at the Atlantic Ocean just as well, and I almost always have a Yorkie curled up on my lap while writing. *All photos are photographed by forhispurpose.blog and therefore may not be stored or photocopied in any manner.

40 thoughts on “Rejection to Blessing”

  4. I have to admit that I was a tad convicted after reading this. My husband got me a new set of pots and pans for Christmas. I only needed a new frying pan and had mentioned that several times because I also wanted a new set of dishes. So when I opened up an entire set of pots and pans (and no dishes) I was quite upset. Disappointed because #1 – I felt like he didn’t even hear me and #2 – now I had to wash all these pots and find a place for them in my tiny kitchen! (Oh the struggle! LOL!)
    PS – I love what you made with your Cricut!

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    1. Ahh see and I think it means we’re practical which isn’t necessarily a bad thing BUT I suppose we need to be thankful no matter what!! Obviously our husband’s mean well for us!❤️

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  5. I can understand. My husband got me a sewing machine awhile back and I did not want a sewing machine at all. I wound up enjoying it when I got into quilting. And I am sad to admit that I have taken God’s blessings for granted at times too. So thank you for that nudge. I can also understand your frustration with the internet and extra expense. It seems when I get my mind on a plan, something comes along to mess it up, and it is frustrating. But thank you for this beautiful reminder to enjoy life and the gifts that are given to us. I am so glad it all worked out. I love the things you made. They are all beautiful. Thank you for the link to your Etsy store. I will check it out! ❤️

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  8. I love this post! My husband and I have a “Zero” on the gift giving scale. It stresses us both out so much! So we decided years ago to put a stop to giving each other gifts. Now if we need or want something we either just get it or discuss it. With four very grown children, seven grandchildren, and three great grands, we have simplified the first two groups, and now focus on the great grands. This year we went all out and dressed up like Santa and Mrs Claus and made our gift deliveries. With one family it was a zoom gathering (out of town), two were in person with masks and distancing, and with the last family it had to be done behind windows because Covid was in the house. All of them were sweet and uniquely precious. So what was the most loved gift? The joy and love we brought in those silly costumes. So. My biggest lesson was the gift doesn’t have to be tangible, just from our hearts. ❤️ Thanks for posting this to remind us all to look for the love and joy!

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    1. Ahhh this is soooo sweet Cecilia!! I love that the two of you dressed up as Mr and Mrs Claus, what a sweet memory for you all to cherish!
      And you are absolutely right, I like how you put it: ‘the gift doesn’t have to be tangible, just from our hearts.’

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  10. I needed this reminder. I’m always one to reason away not doing something that may bless me or my family because it may be a “waste”. I need to look at the bigger picture!

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    1. Thanks so much for reading!!

      Ya it’s quite a challenge for me…I like to give but I’m not great at accepting gifts🤷‍♀️…last year my husband surprised me with building me a ‘she-shed’ and where I live it gets really cold from November-ish to April-ish (I blogged about being worried I wouldn’t use it enough) needless to say I haven’t stepped foot in the she-shed for months…so as you can tell this is beginning to become a trend for us!!!!😬😬😬

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  13. Wow! I love this post but it brought a tear to my eyes. I can’t count the times I didn’t appreciate my blessings and sometimes, I’m so ashamed to say, I still fall short on this. Thanking the Lord that this is getting my attention.

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    1. Ohhh good yes I think we’re all guilty (at times) of not realizing that we should be thanking God for the little and the big. There’s a few bloggers that have been doing ongoing posts on thankfulness and some of the things they mention I’m like wow I never even thought to thank God for that!! Seriously eye opening! And then my own experience with my husband buying me the cricut machine really spoke to my heart!!

      Thank you for stopping by! Have an amazing day!

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