As we have been walking through the STEPS program, we've been intensely examining our relationships with God. I am learning a great deal about what I believe about Him and how that effects the way I think and feel and speak and act.
My husband had to go on a long work trip last week. I decided to go stay with my parents so I wouldn't have our huge empty bed to come home to alone every night while he was away.
If you know me at all, you will not be surprised that I forgot something in packing. I left my phone charger in Dry Prong. Of course I did not realize it until bedtime when everyone had already gone to sleep. So I roamed the house in search of one. I found an extra cord easily enough, swiping it from an infrequently used spot next to the couch. My great problem arose in looking for a charging block. I searched all the front of the house and found that all the charging blocks in the wall sockets were in use, charging things.
Thinking to myself, of course there are no extra charging blocks in this house, I began weighing which things I thought I could unplug that would cause the least offense. I also began to make a plan to get up early to plug the block back in so no one would notice I'd borrowed it. And I decided to take the charger my mom uses to charge her headphones in the kitchen. Her headphones actually are reasonably important, as she cannot hear to watch tv or listen to music without them. But that was the charger I picked.
If this begins to sound ridiculous to you, it should.
I took the charger, plugged my phone in for the night, feeling guilty, and went to bed. When I woke up the next morning I headed straight for the kitchen to put it back. Then I promptly forgot to ask about the possibility of finding another phone charger when everyone else woke up. I went through the same process the next night.
The following evening, I finally remembered to ask my Dad, though I didn't feel hopeful about there being one that wasn't already in use somewhere. His reply? "Oh, go check the bowl on the table next to my desk, that's where I keep them."
There on the table next to his desk in the hall was indeed a bowl. And that bowl was heaped over with charging blocks. There was every color, size, shape, and compatibility you could possibly want. It was a mouth hanging open moment.
I don't recall right when it hit me. This is exactly the way I think about and live toward God.
I have a need or a perceived need. I search with feeble senses and do not see God as having adequate provision for me. I feel that I must provide for myself illicitly, weighing what would be least sinful or harmful in my own estimation.
I believed a lie about my Dad's house. There's never not enough of a needful thing there. What's more, I forgot or ignored the truth about my Dad's house. Dad can't throw away a piece of electronics to save his own life. Ok so maybe that's a slight exaggeration, but not much. There are boxes of RJ11 cords, floppy disks, CD Rom program installation disks, and ancient deceased laptops floating around still.
I believe similar lies and ignore similar truths about God. But in reality there are bowls sitting around in plain sight, accessible to all, filled to the top and overflowing with mercy and grace to help in time of need.
I just have to ask.
