Return Day

The Christmas holiday now actually consists of two days. The first day is the actual Christmas. The second day is Return Day. That's when you take back what you didn't want, need, or didn't work, and either get the money back or else exchange it for what you do want, need, or does work.

This year I had what I thought was a great idea for gifts. My grandsons are into guitars. Electric guitars, acoustic guitars, acoustic electric guitars, big guitars and small. We are deluged in guitars. My son played guitar and it gives me great pleasure to see my grandsons take it up. One thing they did not have, and needed, were cases to protect those guitars.

Since it was Christmas, I intended to remedy 'part' of the situation. Part, because they have too many guitars to buy cases for! I got online and went to a site for musicians my son used to buy from, that usually has really good prices. I found what I wanted, told my wife and daughter, and recommended they buy each boy a case. When the cases arrived, they were not the ones I intended. They had went to a different site, one of my grandsons likes to use, and bought another brand. On Christmas morning the cases were opened, and the guitars did not fit! As much as I want to put all the blame on them, it was partly my fault too. I didn't insist they buy those particular cases.

Therein lay the problem. According to the dictionary, a recommendation is about the same as a suggestion. That's what I did. Not that my insistence would carry that much weight either, but at least I wouldn't have to share the blame! On Return Day we went to work and got everything returned and reordered. It just took a little fixing.

As a minister of the gospel, I don't just recommend you accept Christ as the Lord of your life, I insist! Just as it often is in my own household, you don't have to follow what I say, but if you don't, you won't be able to fix it on Return Day!

'Father God, give us a heart to hear and heed what your Word has insisted we do. Amen!'