Every day has its traditions, and this one is no exception. Today is the day for returns. Stores open early, lines form in parking lots, and people wait to return the items that are the wrong size, made them raise their eyebrows, or don’t fit in their lives.
Some people dread returns. I don’t. Returns bring with them new possibilities. In the place of the “what were you thinking” gift in my hands, I get to choose something new. Something that will be a better fit. Something I need. Something that will make me smile. When I leave the store, I always feel better. The thing I was returning is out of my hands. I no longer have to carry it around. I can cross off my list and put it out of my mind.
God specializes in returns. We can bring in our old lives, and exchange it for something brand new. Negative attitudes can be traded for the mind of Christ. The behaviors that pull us away from holiness can be exchanged for disciplines that will impress His image deep in our hearts. Old, used up, wrong size, doesn’t fit can all be exchanged in the currency of grace. What He offers in exchange is new, fresh, clean, and hope-filled. Transformation is always just one return away.
My Jesus Resolution today is to take advantage of God’s return policy. I am going to trade in the junk for joy. I want to get rid of the stuff that weighs down my heart and doesn’t fit His character. I am going to delight in the possibilities He is willing to give me. All I can bring in is stuff that doesn’t fit. He takes my returns and gives me Himself, bearing the cost and making the alternations in me that are necessary. Today is Return Day. What will you exchange today?
Casandra Martin 
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