Hand-in-Hand

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Now that the weather is warming, Emerald and I have been sharing responsibility for taking Jack on his late afternoon walk. For quite some time now she’s been pleading with me to let her hold his leash, and this week she finally became the dog-walker.

Dog-walker

Since Jack doesn’t have the energy to sprint for squirrels anymore, the odds were good that Emerald wouldn’t be dragged down the road as she clutched the leash. Nevertheless, I kept a close eye. If Jack stopped, stiffened his tail, and perked up his ears, I quickly reach down and closed my hand over Emerald’s, adding the necessary strength needed if he should bolt.

Feeling capableIt’s true that Jack no longer wastes energy on little critters, but a nice big deer is another story. Recently he spotted one well before I did, but his body language told me he was about to run. In a split second I had my hand over Emerald’s and held on tight. Though he did try, we successfully held him back…. together.

Emerald’s toddler-strength probably couldn’t even hold a chipmunk back, but when our hands were locked together, she remained safe.

What a great parallel to how God cares for us. We might be drawn into a situation that’s too much to handle, whether willingly or unwillingly, so we cry to God for help. He is willing to cover our weakness with his strength the same way my hand covered Emerald’s.

One example from my own life came during my early days of widowhood. I remember being overwhelmed by sadness, and day after day I was stuck there, feeble in every way. If it hadn’t been for God’s strong partnership (or we could say his strength wrapped around my weakness), I think I’d be in that same place still.

Each day when Emerald and I walk Jack now, she expects to hold the leash herself, blissfully unaware of any risks. “Ewa hole it,” she says. She has no idea I’m watching carefully, trying to stay one step ahead of anything that might harm her.

God does the same thing. Sometimes we think we don’t need him to cover us with help or protection. But he says, “I will counsel you with my loving eye on you.” (Psalm 32:8) In other words, he’ll give us his recommendation, but if we insist on handling things our own way, he’ll step back and let us do it. All the while, though, he’ll keep an eye on us, watching for danger. I find that very reassuring.

Holding onWhere we get into trouble is when we ourselves become aware that danger is ahead but still say, “I don’t need your help, Lord.” Thankfully it takes only a few of those incidents (along with their often-difficult conclusions) to convince us that doing things hand-in-hand with him is always the better choice.

“I am the Lord your God who takes hold of your right hand and says to you, Do not fear; I will help you.” (Isaiah 41:13)

Fizzling Out

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Normally when we say something is “fizzling out,” we mean it’s losing its brilliance (like a sparkler) or is coming to an end (like a party). But yesterday it turned out to mean something completely different.

A full cartHeading for a grocery store check-out, I was surprised when a man approaching from the opposite direction sped up and steered his cart right in front of mine. He quickly began haphazardly tossing items on the belt, stacking them 3-and-4 high. His piles were unstable, tumbling every time the belt moved. And then, just as I began unloading my cart, his big 2-liter Coke rolled off and crashed to the floor… right at my feet.

It exploded with “fizzle,” but the man seemed unconcerned, fishing for money in his pockets. “It’s fizzling out!” I said, jumping back to avoid a stream of sticky Coke heading up my pant leg. Fully expecting him to quickly bend down and grab it, I watched as he stepped past the cashier and out of spray-range.

Coke gone wild.By this time the Coke was rolling around every-which-way in response to its own fizzling…. all over me, my cart, the floor, and the guy behind me. But the one who was responsible pretended not to notice.

It was a long, sticky day as I pursued the rest of my errands in clothes decorated with brown splatters and shoes that suctioned on every surface. I couldn’t stop thinking about that man and his thoughtless disregard.

But while driving home, God whispered something in my ear. “You know, Margaret, sometimes you behave exactly like that. How often have I tried in creative ways to get your attention? And how often have you disregarded even my ‘fizzly’ attempts to reach you?”

He had me there. Rushing through busy days with one eye on a to-do list and the other on whatever’s in my “cart” for that day, I must look to him much like that man in the grocery store. And since I’m often selfishly possessive of my time, interruptions regularly equate to irritations. Sadly, this can include interruptions even from the Lord.

Though I’ve never spoken it aloud, internally I’ve often said, “Father, can’t you see I’m in a hurry here? Your ‘fizzling’ at me is ruining my efficiency!”

But of course God knows all about it and is “fizzling” at me with purpose. The proper response, of course, is to stop what I’m doing and give him my attention. And so, by way of yesterday’s messy object lesson, I stand corrected.

2-liter CokeAs for Mr. In-A-Hurry’s Coke bottle, a fast-thinking store employee nearby moved in to rescue us. But as he took hold of the giant bottle, it sprayed everything within ten feet, including him — face, hair and all.

The only person it completely missed was the guy who should have been tending to the fizzle. But he was long gone.

 “Today when you hear his voice, don’t harden your hearts.” (Hebrews 3:7,8)

Timed Right

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This afternoon I made my way to a local eye-care facility to check my vision. It’d been 4 years, and I thought it was the responsible thing to do.

Waiting room boardWalking into the building, I counted 72 chairs in the waiting room, about half of which were occupied. How long would it be before my name was called? But then I saw a big airport-style electronic board that gave me a clue.

As I sat down, it was encouraging to see that my doctor was running “on time.” The reassurance produced by those two words made me wish there was a similar screen I could check in reference to my communications with God. Once I’ve asked for his help through prayer, my next thought always is, “I wonder when he’ll answer.” An electronic board of “wait times” would be a big help.

Through the years I’ve heard countless sermons about the Lord’s timing. I’ve been told he’s never late with his answers to prayer but that he’s seldom early. In other words, he’s always right on time.

I’ve also heard that it’s unacceptable to bargain with God based on what we hope will happen when. In other words, we’re not to pray the calendar: ”Lord, if you’ll do ‘that’ for me by ‘this’ date, then I’ll do ‘the other thing’ for you.”

This is a demand masquerading as a prayer request and displeases God. So our only choice is to spell out the desires of our hearts (which he encourages) and then find a chair in God’s waiting room. Days pass –sometimes years– without anything happening, and we wonder if it’s true that God is never late.

A wise Bible teacher once told me to watch carefully for God’s timing of events, because it’s never without significance. Considering that, it probably isn’t wise to plead with God to act sooner rather than later. Might the end-result be disappointing if he decides to give us what we want by answering “now,” when he had intended something much better for “later?”

Put in that context, impatient waiting comes with a loss. God is in charge of the calendar and controls all of time. We know that from two episodes in Scripture when he (1) made the sun stand still, and (2) caused the sun’s shadow to move backwards on Hezekiah’s 15 steps…. not to mention his involvement “in the beginning” when he created time in the first place.

waiting...So as we’re tempted to wonder what’s keeping him so long, we should weigh all the options. In the end, our best deal is to wait without complaint. And you never know; today I got called from the waiting room well before I thought I would. And sometimes God does that, too.

“From everlasting to everlasting you are God.” (Psalm 90:2)