We muddle, He makes it right
How often have we wasted time looking for that “lost item” we just know we saw a few minutes ago? We put our keys or our phone in our purse or pocket, but when we reach in to get them, they're not there. Immediately we panic, then start trying to recall just where we could have placed them. After, we search shelves, pockets of jackets worn last week or many weeks before, and look under or on top of everything we own.
Exhausted mentally and physically, we finally sit quietly down, dump out the contents of our purse or pockets and rummage through all the unnecessary stuff we carry around. There in the midst of the other stuff, we see the lost keys or phone.
They were where we thought they were all along.
My husband, bless his heart, was always losing his keys in the recliner where he sat. That space between the seat of the chair and the side revealed many lost items over the course of a week or sometimes a day- the remote for the television, keys, loonies, and phone numbers quickly jotted on a piece of paper that mysteriously dropped off the table by the phone, etc.
So much time is wasted looking for things that, if put in the same place every time, would be easily found with no stress or heated exchanges of conversation. How many times I would say, “How can we be so sure where something is not, yet we still don't know where it is?” (Another mystery of life.)
My friend lost her house keys and had to drive to her son's to get the extra key. Together, they searched her purse, pocket, under the seats of the car, and even the walkway to the house but it was all in vain. Concerned that maybe she left the keys at the grocery stores that morning, she called every place she had been only to be told no one had passed in any keys. Two days later she was getting into her car and looked in the holder on the side of the door. She never put anything in there so was very surprised to see the house keys nestled into the corner.
We may not be able to see our lost items, but God sees everything. A quick prayer for help in those situations might be a better solution to getting all worked up and letting panic get control.
“Trust in the Lord with all your heart, and do not lean on your own understanding. In all your ways acknowledge Him, and He will make straight your paths.” Proverbs 3:5-6 (ESV)
Life is full of muddles and mysteries. We should learn from our mistakes but being who we are, we continue to make the same mistakes over and over again. How reassuring it is that even if we misplace our faith because of the circumstances and situations of the day, God never misplaces us. He always knows just where we are, what we are feeling, and He patiently waits for us to ask for His help- with everything. No panic is needed, no stress raising our cortisol levels, and no rushing around trying to fix what we could never fix in the first place. He just waits till we calm down and ask for help! Then He makes it all right!
“And we know that for those who love God, all things work together for good.” Romans 8:28a
Another mystery of life - He loves us just as much as He did yesterday, just as much in our muddle, just as much when our faith wavers, as He did before. What a wonderful, reliable God we serve.