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The Gift of Imagination

Imagine your life without imagination - yours or anyone else's.
Boring, right? No movies, no novels, no music, no new hairstyles, no entrepreneurs, no new technology. You would never laugh at Jim and Dwight (but then again, maybe you don't do that now). Your t-shirts would all be plain white. Clothing styles would never change. Goodbye FaceBook, the internet, and iphones. Breakfast would be eggs. Lunch would be a sandwich. Dinner would be the same old thing. The walls in your home would all be white and your decor? Non-existent.

For as long as I can remember I've been in awe of God's imagination. Have you ever stopped to consider how vastly different every person in the world is from everyone else - even though we all have the same basic parts? We're just the tip of the iceberg though. Meander around the Discovery channel some time and check out ocean life - SO spectacular! Clouds change from minute to minute. Sunsets and sunrises are never quite like the ones of just the day before. Waterfalls, trees, flowers, terrain, climate, even bugs - what an amazing array of life and scenery in this world! I stand in wonder of God's imagination and am thrilled to my toes that we get to play in it every day.

Imagination is where everything that is was born. It's what we see in our mind and our heart. We can imagine what was or what will be. We can imagine what is when what is can't be seen by our physical eyes.


We spent a week with our son and daughter-in-law over Christmas. I remember those days with joy. I imagine conversations we had, their presence here in our home, and the silliness of three dogs playing together. In my imagination, I get to re-live those days and treasure them all over again.

In eleven days, I will see my daughter. Every time I picture myself stepping off that plane and into her waiting arms, I cry. I miss her like crazy, but my imagination let's me live and re-live that hug that hasn't even happened yet. I picture the days that we'll be together. I picture hugging and tickling and cuddling and being silly with my grandchildren. I picture the banter I'll have with my son-in-law. My imagination gives me the gift of living those days more often than that one moment in time.

Perhaps best of all is when my imagination takes me into the heart of God; when I see Jesus with me throughout the day: in the car beside me as I drive; standing with me in line at the grocery store; in my office when I'm stumped or frustrated; holding me when I'm sad or weary beyond measure. Yes. That's when I'm more grateful than ever for the gift of seeing what was, what is, or what will be, not with my physical eyes, but with my heart and mind. My imagination.

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