After we got settled in Georgia, I couldn’t find several items I had been looking for. One of those things was a carved wooden elephant that my mother had given to me. I said, “Honey, have you seen my wooden elephant? I can’t find it anywhere.”
She said, “Well, uh, I sold it in the garage sale. I didn’t think you wanted it.”
“You what?” I said in disbelief. “You sold my elephant in a garage sale? I loved that elephant! Why did you do that?” It really upset me that she had sold my prized possession for a few bucks.
Sometimes God can speak unexpectedly, and in this case He did. As I was thinking about my loss, He said, “Why don’t you give the elephant to me?”
“Because I don’t have it anymore,” I answered. “How can I give it to you if I don’t have it?”
The Lord said, “It’s still in your heart. You can offer it to me as a gift.”
I had never thought of that before. And so I did. I prayed, “Lord, I want to give you the wooden elephant as an offering. Even though I don’t own it anymore, it’s still in my heart, and I give it to you. It’s yours and I won’t ask for it back. Amen.”
Suddenly I wasn’t angry anymore! How could I be mad about something that I had placed in God’s hands as a gift? I realized that I had discovered a truth that I could share with others. Since then, I’ve shared this experience with others who were upset over things they couldn’t recover. Just offer it to God as an offering.
Later I was in a store and spotted a miniature elephant about the same size as my wooden one (see the above picture). I felt as though God wanted to replace the one I had given up, and since it was only $15, I bought it.
Sometimes, if you’ll react in the right way and do what God says, He will find a way to make it up to you. (Slaying Your Giants, Hendrickson Publishers, 2013, p. 136.)
Read sample chapters of Slaying Your Giants at www.kentcrockett.com