Gift Baskets and Grab Bags

Have you ever bought a grab bag? You know, when you buy a bag but have no idea just what is inside? I'm on the fence if I totally love grab bags because they are a surprise or totally hate grab bags because you almost never get anything you actually would like or want. But there is something very tempting about spending $7.50 on 5 accessories. Of course, it probably isn't anything good. And definitely not anything I would probably ever spend money on otherwise. There is something that I suppose tries to rationalize and is saying in the back of my head, "Go for it. It's a good deal. It's a surprise. It'd be fun. If you don't like what's inside, you can always give it to someone else as a gift." I don't know if it is a waste of money or not. Nonetheless, surprises are fun.

Now Gift baskets are completely different. It's not really like you know what is inside, but gift basket seem to have such a more positive connotation. Gift baskets just seems like a joy to give and receive. Maybe I am the only one who thinks so, but I will continue. Gift baskets are just like happiness handed to you in a basket. You aren't really sure what's all instead, but it doesn't really matter, it's just joyful getting a whole basket of goodies.

So, since I like compared life to inanimate objects, I think that life is not a gift basket, but more like a grab bag. There's the first and more obvious reason, because you never know what you are going to get in a grab bag and you never know how life is going to turn out. Another reason is life isn't always what you expect. Gift baskets have pretty wrapping and usually have equally pretty things inside. (Fruit is pretty.) Whereas grab bags probably have pretty nice looking packaging, but could very easily not hold pretty things inside. However, since you never know what you are going to get, it is also full of surprises.

What really matters in the end is that we are covered by God's grace, so it doesn't matter what the packaging or wrapping looks like. It only matters what is inside us and Who is inside us.