Candy Hoarder

I had a rather unattractive character flaw revealed to me this week.

After dinner, my husband was rooting around in what we call the "snack drawer". It's where we keep our stash of Oreos and Cheez-its, etc. It's the drawer all my teenage son's friends gravitate toward when they come over - especially the ones with conscientious parents who don't buy those things. I'm corrupting

them.

Anyway, he found the candy I had put there from my Christmas stocking. Reese's cups, Butterfingers, Twix, and Snickers. Yum. Per my very specific request, they were dropped off by Santa on Christmas Eve, and now that the Christmas decor is put away, I put the contents of my stocking in the snack drawer.

When my husband discovered them, he asked who wanted which candy for dessert.

"Uhhh...That's my stocking candy," I pointed out.

"All of this?" he asked, as if he didn't remember buying it and placing it in my stocking himself.

"Yeah. MY candy."

"Ok. I'll have Oreos," he replied.

Later, when I noticed his mood had changed considerably, I asked him if he was mad that I wouldn't share my candy. His response?

"I just can't believe how quickly such nastiness comes out of your mouth."

Ouch.

A short time later God spoke as clearly to me as He has ever done, telling me that the candy was like the gifts He gives to me. They're from Him (like the candy was from Tony) and in my selfishness, I don't want to share. I couldn't believe it! Tony went to work and earned the money and went to the store and bought the candy and put it in my stocking. And I claimed it as MINE? Really?

In what ways do I do that with what God's given me? With my possessions? With my time? With my talents? Everything I have is from Him! It should inspire me to give generously and to lay all my plans before my Father and hold all things loosely.

But I don't.

So I repented in tears on the edge of our tub and then went to the drawer to get the Twix bars that were there, which are my husband's favorite. I placed them under the pillow on his side of the bed with a note that said, "I'm sorry. Will U 4-give me?"

When he discovered them that night, he laughed and took me in his arms and said that, yes, he would forgive me.

That's grace.