I WON! But did I REALLY Want This?

Do you have a lot of luck signing up for all those giveaways on the web? Until just the other day, I've never won a thing. I was so excited that I finally won a blog giveaway! But...

I have to be honest, I entered the giveaway thinking I wouldn't win anyway, and it was helping out a friend of mine. No biggie. I honestly didn't really WANT what was being given away...not that it's a horrible thing, but, well, you'll see in a minute what I'm talking about.

The prize was a Mend Mark Bracelet. Jewelry! Everyone loves jewelry, right? But, there's something different about this one. It has a specific purpose. One that kind of hits a little too close to the truth of who I really am. And the responsibility I have as what I profess to be.

The mend mark is a distinctive wristband designed with the purpose of resembling one of the five scars of Jesus. The band features circular disks that are positioned at each side of the wrist. The intent of these is to simulate one of the holes that was instrumental in killing a King. The purpose of bearing this symbol is to emphasize the importance of His sacrifice and prompt us to never forget the role that it continuously plays in our lives.

It also reminds me of how much I am NOT like Jesus in my everyday things...thoughts, words, actions. How I deal with frustrations, challenges, my children, and people who have hurt me. I don't really want to be reminded of those things.

I also have to remember that people who don't know anything about the God I serve are seeing my actions (or reactions), hearing my words...to what conclusion do they come? That Christians are no different than the rest of the world? If that's the case, why bother? 

I know that I don't have to wear it, and I surely don't want to sound ungrateful...I just thought how ironic is that? Entering a contest because I don't think I'll win anyway, only to win something that makes me a bit uncomfortable in my skin. My daughter, when she was three, said something so profound once. She had done something naughty and when I asked her why she did it, she said "my skin made me do it." It didn't hit me until later that she was right on. That pesky flesh can sometimes make us do things we really shouldn't. 

After I put the bracelet on, I was looking at it and thinking about how God sure has one strange sense of humor sometimes. And how he always knows what we need, even when we're clueless. He said to me...

I'm going to mend all that is broken in your life. Stand still and watch me work.

This echoed what I'd read just a few days before, while praying about several things that need mending...mending that is beyond my ability...

2 Chronicles 20:17 (Amplified Bible)

¹⁷You shall not need to fight in this battle; take your positions, stand still, and see the deliverance of the Lord [Who is] with you, O Judah and Jerusalem. Fear not nor be dismayed. Tomorrow go out against them, for the Lord is with you.

 So now, I am also reminded of what Christ's sacrifice has done for me and for all who accept it. It means that I have a powerful intermediary working on my behalf, one who always wins! And when God says to stand back and watch him work, what a relief that is. I would mess it up, for sure. I have a long track record of doing just that. But he is faithful, even when I am not. He is always there, even when I turn away. And he is true to his word. 

Thanks, God...now, about all those other blog giveaways I've entered...