Sunday, January 09, 2005

A SCREW LOOSE

And he said, Go forth, and stand upon the mount before the Lord.
And, behold, the Lord passed by, and a great and strong wind rent the mountains,
and brake in pieces the rocks before the Lord;
but the Lord was not in the wind: and after the wind an earthquake;
but the Lord was not in the earthquake: and after the earthquake a fire;
but the Lord was not in the fire: and after the fire
a still small voice.
-- 1 Kings 19:11,12


I’m hardware-impaired. Totally intimidated. If I need a thingybob or a dealie, I go to the hardware store and survey the 5,023,742 bins and drawers containing thingybobs and dealies of every size, shape and mysterious purpose. I burst into tears, go home and use duct tape.

I’m so dumb about these things that I once took a camera in to be fixed. “I think you have a screw loose,” the counter guy said. I replied, “Yeah, but what about my camera?”

My beloved, in contrast, is Hardware Hank. He goes to the hardware store regularly to escape the shrieking in our estrogen-laced household, and to find the thingbobs and dealies to complete his Honey-Do List. Peace and parts: he finds them in the hardware panorama.

For us city folks, hardware emergencies are no big deal. But for a friend of mine who lives ‘way out in the sticks, things are different.

Rolly is a farmer. He’s frugal and can’t waste time. Well, one winter day, he was home alone running wire for the stock tank heaters. Rolly jokes that he knows as much about wiring as the next man knows about filling out a National Pollutant Discharge Elimination System report. But at least he tries.

Well, he went inside the chicken coop where the fuse box was, and studied the wiring. He walked to the power pole, then back to the coop to rearrange some things. Then back to the pole, and back.

All along, he was careful to not lose any screws. If he dropped one, he quickly watched it so he could pick it back up. He had no replacements and didn’t want to go all the way to town for a ten-cent screw.

Then, trying to bend taut wire, he dropped one.

He knew he’d never find it in the soft dirt of the chicken coop floor.

Ohh, Lord. Ohhhh, help me learn my lesson. Ohhhhhhh, well.

He made do without the lost screw, finishing the 20-minute job in an hour and a half. But at least it worked perfectly. Well, 90 percent.

He made a mental note to pick up a pack of those screws next time he went to town.

Two days later, on his land nearly 2½ miles away from the house, he was walking along fixing fenceposts when he looked down . . . and there on the ground was a screw exactly like the one he’d dropped.

Now, to most folks, that would be just a coincidence. But how many other little thingybobs or dealies could it have been? 5,023,741?

To Rolly, it was evidence of the power of God – a reminder of His faithfulness – proof that He is able to meet all our needs. He provides the Earth and the tides, the sun and the rain . . . and the little things, too.

If He can provide a stinking little screw, He can provide anything.

Rolly thought back to the story of Elijah, looking for God in the earthquakes, hurricanes and fires . . . like the tsunami of a few weeks ago . . . but that’s not where Elijah found God. He was in the still, small voice.

People often see God for the first time in awesome, spectacular displays. But it’s in the quiet, little miracles, like that screw at Rolly’s feet, that those who already know God see Him every day.

That’s how to live: with the certainty of His presence and provision for all your needs, large or small.

That’s what holds a well-built life together.

‘Til you have that simple, strong connection, you can only go around with a . . . spiritual screw loose.

------------------------------------------------

Prayer request: Lord, there’s a faithful daughter of yours who apparently is getting a raw deal financially in a rocky divorce that is not of her making. We thank You for providing for her and her children. We pray in Jesus’ Name that you will remind the ex-husband of his promise before You to love, honor and cherish her. Work a supernatural change in his heart so he’ll honor that, Lord. (1 Corinthians 13:13)

No comments: