lost blessings

A few weeks ago, we had a fun little surprise planned for the girls. However, the girls were being very rebellious towards us and they were fighting with each other. As a result, hubby and I decided not to surprise the girls. We had not told the girls we had a treat planned and we did not tell them we took the treat away. We simply went on with our day without doing what we had planned.



The surprise was something they would have enjoyed immensely. And we found out from our neighbor that the event was bigger than we had thought it would be. But the girls never knew.



I wondered how often we miss out as Christians. How many times does our Father in Heaven have a delightful blessing planned for us that because we are rebellious and following our wayward hearts, He decides to quietly withdraw without our knowing it? What blessings do we miss because we decided to do it ‘my way?’



Sometimes, we plan a surprise and we let the girls know that there is a surprise in the wings. Sometimes that surprise fails either because of forces outside of our control or because we withdraw the privilege because the children are naughty. In these situations, the girls are disappointed and know what they’ve missed and live with regret. But they also live with the hope that we might grant them another opportunity.



Sometimes in our lives we know that we disobeyed God and can see with reasonable clarity that God withdrew a blessing. Sometimes we live with regret and hope that God will give us a second chance. But sometimes, we never know what we missed. When I thought of what the girls missed I felt sad that they never knew they had the opportunity but I also felt some relief in that they wouldn’t be sad about missing the opportunity.



I wonder how God feels?