Thankful

I'm a cologne freak--a fragrance geek. This malady probably started to germinate back in the '60s, when my next-door neighbor--who worked at a department store--brought me a bag of samples from the fragrance counter she managed. As a 7-year-old, I had all of the cool designer colognes of the day at my disposal. I was a mean-smelling second grader! I never lost the passion for good smelling stuff, and have a way over-blown collection of the best scents available on my bathroom counter.

A few weeks ago, I wandered into our local Macy's store and into the cologne department. The sales lady immediately saw me as an easy target (way too much money spent there already), and had a sample of a newer cologne ready for me to test. I instantly loved it for it's unique scent--and it did smell curiously familiar. I was intrigued. Since we are so close to Christmas, I thought it could be a good gift from my family. I kept smelling that cologne sample for the rest of our stroll through the mall.

I got home and went online to find the scent--maybe on Amazon for a cheaper price. A few days later, I was searching for some cologne to wear, and thought I'd peer into the back line of the many fragrance bottles, lined up like toy soldiers. There in the very back was a lonely bottle, not often used, and it looked quite like the cologne I was hunting online. I reached over, pulled it into the light and, behold, it was the very one I was searching for...I already had it!

That says a lot about me: One, I have too many bottles of cologne, two, I have spent way too much money on such fru fru items and, three, I have a terrible memory. But my main thought, as I found the forgotten cologne, was that so much of what we have is taken for granted, and  the things for which we desperately seek may already be in our possession.

I think of Moses and his staff, where God asked him: "What do you have in your hand?" The staff that he already had was then commanded to be thrown to the ground, consecrated, and used to lead his people out of slavery.

I know this Moses story is a far cry from my sorry cologne saga, but the point is: If we spend enough time in prayer, soul searching, and following after God's Word, we may find that what we're looking for is already in our hands, waiting to be dusted off and put into service.

I'm thankful today for the blessings I didn't know I had--there are so many. I will take this reminder  into tomorrow as my family gathers for our Thanksgiving feast. Thank you, God, for Your many unseen blessings--and for my new found cologne!

Happy Thanksgiving to all!