Lesson Learned...

...some lessons need repeating a time or two (or quite a few) before they sink in and begin to take hold. Sometimes, even after the lesson has been learned we fall back into our old ways of thinking or doing.

Today I was reminded of a lesson I've tried hard over the years to grasp, but it still creeps back on me every once in awhile. It's about faith, and learning to place my worries in God's capable hands.

The story begins with me rushing to my car this morning, knowing that with time the way it was I would be arriving at just the right time for Church Service. I was thinking about the praise and worship team and how I was involved in the Church service as a vocalists. Before we begin each service the worship team meets in the pastor's study for a time of prayer and at the rate I was going I would be just in time for the prayer.

Get to my car. Turn the key, and NOTHING. Well, not exactly nothing, the radio came alive and my car tried to turn over but it just couldn't get up the gumption to do so. First thought, "Oh no, what am I going to do I have to be on time for Church I'm singing this morning."

Okay, now is not the time to panic I have to think rationally. Well, Church is within walking distance, but by the time I cover that ground on foot I'm sure to be late. Then again I could always call someone at the Church who might have a free moment to swing by and pick me up. Of course, Tommy would be a great person to call.

Called Tommy and he said that he'd be there in a few minutes. Several minutes later I'm still sitting there and worrying about how bad it was going to look for me to walk in late. So, in order to stop my internal worrying I call Emily Huffman so I can worry over the phone with her (but at that time I called it venting). In the back of my mind I keep envisioning how I've probably already missed the prayer and that by the time I arrived at Church the praise team would have already begun. Would I want to embarrass myself by walking up to the front, picking up a microphone and just pick up wherever they were, or should I just forget about singing today and leave them with the singers they had.

All this worrying and I still hadn't left my apartment parking lot.

Tommy finally makes his appearance and I'm in a real panic about time. We get to the Church with no problem. I rush through the greets, just quickly saying hello and see you later (I'll admit that was rude), and then I make the most amazing discovery. It seems the praise and worship team was running a little late themselves today and they hadn't even had there prayer yet. I had arrived just in time.

So now I was free of my first worry, whether I'd meet my obligations with the praise and worship team, I was then able to move onto the next worry concerning the state of my car. I'm ashamed to admit this, but as I stood before the Church helping lead them in worship my thoughts were more centered on my car. The questions were, "what was wrong with it" "how was I going to get it to the mechanics to have it fixed" "when would I have time to have it fixed" "how much was this going to cost me" "how was I going to get to work tomorrow without a car"?

All very worthy questions I guess, but much to weighing on me. Here again I'll be brutally honest, I'm at Church and leading worship, standing before the congregation in secret worry and I still haven't prayed over my situation. It's sad but true, I was holding onto the weight of my situation and not letting go even for God.

What's so marvelous about God is that He knows that we sometimes forget these lessons He keeps trying to teach us, and He's still ever so patient with us. This Sunday our scripture verse of study was Matthew 6: 25-34:

Therefore I tell you, do not worry about your life, what you will eat or drink; or about your body, what you will wear. Is not life more important than food, and the body more important than clothes? Look at the birds of the air; they do not sow or reap or store away in barns, and yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not much more valuable then they? Who of you by worrying can add a single hour to his life?

And why do you worry about clothes? See how the lilies of the field grow. They do not labor or spin. Yet I tell you that not even Solomon in all his splendor was dressed like one of these. If that is how God clothes the grass of the field, which is here today and tomorrow is thrown into the fire, will he not much more clothe you, O you of little faith? So do not worry, saying "What shall we eat?" or "What shall we drink?" or "What shall we wear?" For the pagans run after all these things, and your heavenly Father knows that you need them. But seek first his kingdom and his righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well. Therefore do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about itself. Each day has enough trouble of its own.

These words spoken by Jesus, spoke yet again for me today. God's word was very much alive and applicable for me in my present. I heard with my ears the words from Matthew 6 spoken aloud, but my heart spoke a different message:

Therefore I tell you, do not worry about the car you drive, whether it runs or won't even start. Is not life more important than a vehicle.

The message brought me around very quickly. I sat there in silent prayer offering all my worries from the morning over to God, knowing that He is than any mechanical failure. I sat in Church and REALLY listening with an open heart to what God wanted me to hear that day. I was free from my burden and able to move forward.

After the service several in the congregation thought it would be nice to go out for lunch. Well normally I like to attend these gatherings because it's just plain good fellowship. Today though I knew I didn't have a ride. So, I let it be known that I would like to go, but my car wasn't working and I would have to bum a ride to the restaurant and then back home. This wasn't a probably for anyone and eventually through the process of elimination I ended up in the vehicle of Jim and Becky Sandborn and their two boys.

We had such a pleasant time together and I probably enjoyed the afternoon more just for having that extra time riding around with the Sandborns and their lively sons (Mitchell 8 and Nicholas 6). When we arrived back at my apartment Jim asked if I would like him to check out my car while he was there. He said that in the very least he could attach the jumper cables and see if it might just be the battery.

First off they asked me to try and start the car again. It wasn't looking like an easy fix, the car lights came on, the radio turned on, but the car wouldn't start (and was now even making a loud clicking noise). We still attached the jumper cables just on the off chance it was a simple battery issue, but we didn't have a lot of hope (I was already thinking of the call I would need to make in the morning to a tower - which seemed ridiculous to me since my mechanic was a quarter of the mile up the road from me).

Jumper cables attached, I turned the ignition and wonder of wonders the car actually started right up. My next blessing came with Jim's offer to follow me down the road to a Pepboys that was still open to buy a new battery, which he could replace himself and I wouldn't have to pay the service fee.

Insert funny story here, at the Pepboys we tested my old battery to see how much juice it actually had. The man at the store said, well it'll take about 15-20 minutes to get a reading, unless the battery is really low then it'll take only about a minute or two. Twenty seconds later the reading was done and we knew that my battery was beyond low it was completely shot.

In the process of changing the battery we noticed that my rear tail lights were no longer working on the left side of my car. Again Jim knew more than I did on this subject, and I learned that instead of going to the mechanic and being charged $12 for changing a light I could easily do it for a little under $6 (the cost of the light itself).

At the end of the day my car runs, and is better off (working rear lights) than it was yesterday. It's not surprising to me that things have a way of working out on their own when we leave them in God's capable hands. He always sends us the help we need, we need only to ask.