Baggage
“Goodness. Where are they??”
Once again, I had lost my keys in the black hole which I had chosen for my summer purse (a.k.a. the family catch-all bag).
I've always been against carrying a large bag – just as I had always been against driving a minivan. But age and experience are no match for ideals and it wasn’t long until I had caved to necessity and convenience on both counts.
“Mom, can you unlock the door?” I heard a voice say from the opposite side of said minivan.
“Workin' on it, pal,” I hollered back as I continued to blindly fumble through old receipts, grocery lists, 537 pairs of sunglasses, 49 face masks and at least one extra pair of socks (don't ask).
Finally, reaching a point of desperation and now full blown frustration, I succumbed fully to the scavenger hunt and set the bags I was carrying down on the hot asphalt. Balancing my oversized-only-a-mom-could-love purse on one knee, I peered into the dark abyss.
Use your eyeballs, I heard my own voice ringing in my head – a frequent sentiment spoken when an item goes missing in the house and everyone assumes asking me where to find it is a quicker and more preferred solution to actually searching for it themselves.
“Ah, Mom?” my daughter peered around the back corner of the vehicle. “It's so hot out here!”
“I know, I know. Sorry, I'm doing the best I can. Should've gotten these out while we were still in the store,” I lamented. And then “Got 'em!!!” Sweet, sweet victory.
Soon I was behind the wheel, all four of my crew safely strapped in behind me, air condition pumping. As we headed for home, I silently vowed to switch back to my smaller purse before our next excursion in order to avoid a repeat of such a scene.
Yet I couldn't help but wonder: was it really the bag that was the problem or did it have more to with its contents? (Ahem...a pair of socks? Really?)
And then I heard His voice.
“My dear child, does it sometimes appear as though I am hard to find?”
Yes. Yes, it does.
How many times have I “packed away” my faith, my knowledge of the Scriptures and the words of my Father only to wind up on a patch of hot asphalt, frantically searching for what I know to be true, the only source of lasting peace and hope?
How many times have I found myself in a conversation with someone, knowing that there was a Bible verse which would encourage and support this someone, yet I just couldn't quite come up with it at the right time or explain it quite clearly?
How many times have I felt beaten down by what the world tells me about how I should think, act, look, having completely forgotten the many, many times my heavenly Father has not only told me how much He loved me but also showed it?
And how better off would I be if I had kept these tools honed, sharp and at the ready, building on them during the calmer, not-so-frantic moments of my life for quick access in the not so calm times?
But life, I find myself saying. It's just too big.
But is it? Or is there just too much to sift through?
Have I filled my life with so many other things – possessions, relationships, goals, commitments, tasks, the list goes on – that when my faith is tested or the waves get higher I find that the one thing needful (Luke 10:41-42) is buried so deep beneath it all it's difficult to call upon?
““I say to the Lord, ‘You are my Lord;
apart from you I have no good thing.””
Apart from HIM.
Apart from Him we have no good thing.
Apart from Him we have no peace.
Apart from Him we have no endurance.
Apart from Him we have no salvation.
Apart from Him we're left stranded in the middle of a sweltering parking lot, wanting nothing more than to just go home after a long day.
But here's the thing: no matter how deep we've buried Him, no matter how much we've added to our lives in an attempt to fill the hole that only He can fill, He's still there. And He wants you to know Him better.
““...I summon you by name and bestow on you a title of honor,
though you do not acknowledge me.
I am the Lord, and there is no other;
apart from me there is no God.
I will strengthen you,
though you have not acknowledged me,
so that from the rising of the sun
to the place of its setting,
people may know there is none besides me.
I am the Lord, and there is no other.””
So today, my dear friends, ask Him to help you begin seeking Him. Unbury Him from the “stuff” which clutters your life. And remember His promise:
““You will seek me and find me when you seek me with all your heart.””