The purse

This post is publishing while I am out of town. (I love technology!) It is one of the talks I am presenting at She Speaks over the weekend. I needed to write a three-minute testimony talk. This is what I came up with...

Once upon a time, a beautiful girl who lived on a budget and usually spent money on her children first, went shopping for a new purse, because the dingy, ravelin-infested excuse for handbag that hung from her shoulder simply would not suffice any more. Four years was long enough. "Practical, sensible, and durable" were her requirements, although the desires of her heart were "cute, pretty, and fun". Wondering if those qualities could possibly meet and mingle within her price range, she found the purse department at the local JC Penney department store and was elated to see the beloved Red Dot Clearance tags in full display. With dogged determination, the beautiful girl began to scour the racks for her perfect purse. And find it she did. It was the most wonderful blend of pretty and practical!

Her excitement was soon railroaded by reality, however, as she realized that her pretty and practical purse was not boasting red a dot, and was nearly full price. So, being the good girl that she is, she found another one. Boring and practical, yet adorned with a red dot, it seemed to be the purse of her fate, much to her disappointment.

Feeling discouraged but not dissuaded, the girl clutched the two contrasting purses and decided to pray. Right there, in the middle of JC Penney’s, she asked the Lord which purse should be hers. Within moments, two of her shopping mates passed by and instantly began to praise the pretty purse hanging from the girl’s shoulder, while turning up their noses and the boring bad dangling from her other hand. “It’s so you!” they squealed. Feeling bolstered and yet keenly aware of the guilt rising in her spirit for challenging the budget, the girl took a deep breath, decided on the pretty purse, and headed to the checkout counter.


“Can I interest you in a JC Penney credit card?” No, thank you.
“You can take 10% off that way…” Ooh , the temptation was almost too much to bear. No, thank you, we gave up using credit.
“Well, you could just get the discount now and pay it all off in a month…” No, sir, I have to stick to our rules. No credit.
“OK, well do you at least have a coupon?” {sigh} No, I am just shopping the sales.
“I see.” The cashier finally knew he was fighting a losing battle with the girl. However, with lightning-fast reflexes, a card was waved in front of the scanner and the register spewed out a total.
“There. I just gave you $15 off. Have a nice day.”

With her mouth gaping in disbelief, the girl walked away clutching her brand new, heart’s desire, pretty and practical purse. The best of both worlds had become her reality, for the price of a red dot bag. Praise the Lord.

Dear friends, you may have guessed, that girl is me and I absolutely love my new purse. I am typing here today to declare to you that our God loves us enough to give us the desires of our hearts. Nothing is going unnoticed by Him, and when we truly commit our ways, our choices, and our decisions to Him, He will honor that. Big time. Not that He has always given me exactly what I want, praise Him, He has not, but the truth remains that we worship the God of the details. We worship a God so big, so loving, so capable, and so true, that even purses and budgets are under His control.

How much more can I trust Him with in my life, if He responded so greatly over just a purse?

Psalm 103: 1-5…Praise the Lord, O my soul, all my inmost being, praise His holy name. Praise the Lord, O my soul, and forget not all His benefits—who forgives all your sins and heals all your diseases, who redeems your life from the pit and crowns you with love and compassion, who satisfies your desires with good things so that your youth is renewed like the eagle’s.

And I thought it was just my purse making me feel younger!