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I had a free afternoon one day, so I decided to make a snack and watch a movie. I walked over to the pantry and grabbed a bag of microwavable popcorn. I then threw the bag in the microwave and hit the "popcorn" button. I trusted it would cook my popcorn to the appropriate popped-corn-to-unpopped-kernel ratio.
While I waited, I grabbed a pop from the fridge, opened it, put it to my mouth, and took a swig. I trusted the pop can was clean, and had no second thought about where that can had been before it touched my lips.
Most of us trust things without any second thoughts. We trust the bus drivers who drive us to work or our kids to school. We trust teachers and daycare providers to properly teach and care for our children and keep them safe, sometimes without a little prayer before they go. We trust that our food is handled and served properly when we go out to eat. We trust that our television show, or our book/magazine, video game, or purchase from the nearest fast food restaurant is going to fulfill us, at least temporarily.
Yet when we go to church, or listen to our favorite Christian radio station, and hear that all we need to do to be fulfilled is trust in our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ, we may at first feel peace. However, when we think about it, we think about all of the things we would possibly miss out on, as if trusting the Lord to make our lives more fulfilling will somehow deprive us of all the things we "need" or "love." Look at all the other things we put our trust in without much hesitation…
Now, when I take a look back at a particularly difficult time in my life, I remember feeling sad, depressed, stressed, and lonely, even though I was surrounded by several people who loved me and cared for me. I was too ashamed and lonely to pray. Huh, now doesn’t that sound funny? Too lonely to pray! Finally my mom said "Carrie – sadness, loneliness, and fear is not from God. You need to lift it all up and give it all to him. Ask for forgiveness, repent your sin, and give it all up. You keep holding on to it all when it is not yours."
That was it. I prayed. And prayed and prayed. I felt immediate release from everything. I wondered why I had waited for so long!
I do this now with every problem or stress that comes along, and being a single parent, it happens often! I also praise him for every blessing, and to be honest, I have never looked back…
"Trust in the LORD with all thine heart; and lean not unto thine own understanding. In all thy ways acknowledge him, and he shall direct thy paths". Proverbs 3:5-6 (KJV)
Voices piece by Carrie Garcia
contact the author at ccalwyz@yahoo.com |
