Getting the first few items on our list went well. The next items were bug spray and sleeping bags which were in the camping section.
Husband + Camping Section + Wife in a Hurry = Recipe for Disaster!!!
And it was! After a good 10 minutes we picked out a bug spray. On to the sleeping bags. I picked the color I liked and threw it in the cart, easy choice, typical woman. Randy goes about picking one the correct way and has to read all the information about each one. I hurried him along, asking why he couldn’t just get the blue one that was the same as the green one I chose. He smiled and kept reading. Turned out he picked an entirely different bag, a better one, so I put my color choice back and got a purple one that was the same brand and type as his. Why I didn’t think it was necessary to make the choice on anything other than the color…well I’m blaming that on the fact that I was in a hurry!
With those two things crossed off my list, I headed out of the camping section. I soon realized I was the only one, Randy and the kids were looking at all the camping stuff, talking about our late summer’s camping trip. I looked back and seeing I was getting upset, Randy smiled and said “Hun, come here.” He just wanted to remind me what we were doing and to slow me down and calm my mind but I didn’t accept it. I told him I wanted to get what we needed and get back home. Still trying to redirect my hurried mind, he tried to show me a cot that held an air mattress on top…my mind was not cooperating. I took the kids and the cart and went to find cat food. Basically sprinting through the aisles (I can only imagine how ridiculous I did look) I picked up the cat food, diapers, food items and even the underwear that remained on our list. Last thing: bottled water, under the cart it went.
I felt very accomplished until I realized Randy was no where to be found and I could barely push the cart! Had he been there, he would have gladly taken it from my hands, but truthfully I was the one who walked away from him. Since I needed him to get the kids and the cart to the front of the store and to pay for the purchase, I called him.
“Where are you?” I asked.
“Where are you?!” he replied.
Turns out, he was near where I walked away taking care of a few things that actually needed to be taken care of and I was in too much of a hurry to remember them. He didn’t tell me to come back there though, he simply told me to stay where I was and he would come to me.
Why this drawn out story of my impatience? Because isn’t this what we so often do to Jesus?
There was my husband helping me make the right choices, find everything I needed, remembering things I had forgotten, taking time to pay attention to our kids and answer their curiosity. There I was rushing, wanting to leave the place I didn’t want to be in, needing help but not accepting the help, not hearing his voice trying to calm my hurried spirit and walking away from the one person I needed the most.
Jesus is always there, helping us make the right choice and speaking to us in a calm, quiet voice. He is our Helper and our Guide. How often do we wait to call upon Him until we find ourselves with a load we cannot carry. When the load gets to heavy, He will push it for us. When He died on the cross He took it from our hands. This is something we have to accept, it’s there for the taking if we will have it. Even when we walk away, He will always answer the call for help. Can you not just see it - you calling to Jesus “Where are you?” in a voice that is in such need of help and Him responding “My dear one, where are you?” A question that is for us to answer for ourselves not for Him, because He knows where we are, but do we?
Do we realize the moment when we walked away and how far we have gotten? And can’t you just hear His voice saying “Stay there, I’m coming to you.”
Take time to walk with your Savior, side by side. Allow Him to help you, to carry your load, to be your strength. God sent Him for you! In those times when you’re walking in the place you don’t want to be in, look at Him, focus on Him, listen to His voice as He stills your hurried heart. Trust that the choices He wants for you are the best, trust in His timing and in His will. Give Him your full cart, He already purchased it for you.
“Rest in my sufficiency, as you consider the challenges this day presents. Do not wear yourself out by worrying about whether you can cope with the pressures. Keep looking to Me and communicating with Me, as we walk through this day together.” - Jesus Calling
“Be still and rest in the Lord; wait patiently for Him and patiently lean yourself upon Him” Psalm 37:7
No comments:
Post a Comment