Looking at the blunt email with disbelief, I read it again and enlarge the attached photos. How could this happen?
The picture shows stacks of boxes for a coffee shop in Oklahoma. My invoice clearly lists the address as Oklahoma. But somehow they squat in the middle of a bank lobby in Texas.
No big deal, easy-peasy fix right? Wrong. These are not small boxes I can shove in my vehicle to be easily zipped to the rightful destination. We are talking—a huge stack of dining tables, club chairs, lighting, and a rug. I am about to lose my ever-loving mind. So, deep breath, I tamp down my panic and let my rational mind take over:
- Number one—Call the service department and politely state my displeasure (against every urge to be snippy). A hard check after a twenty-minute conversation.
- Number two—Find out how in the stinking world—boxes to an Oklahoma address— end up in Texas? And ask how they are going to fix it like now…?? CHECK.
- Number three—Remember Mom’s voice in your head, “You win more battles with honey than vinegar.” A grudging check.
The carrier promises a Monday pick-up, problem solved. And since the Lobby is closed up tighter than a drum because of COVID, it isn’t as awful as it could have been.
Then another email swoops in Monday late afternoon. The truck never showed. Whaaat? So for another twenty minutes, I talk to the reps. The result? If the truck didn’t show Tuesday, the bank can just keep the products, donate them, or share with the employees. New items will be shipped to the coffee shop.
So guess who didn’t show and who got free goodies? Happy day for the bank after all.
We all have piles of boxes in our lives. Some filled with sorrow, some with secrets, some with treasures of joy. Some look pristine, many appear dented and dinged, while others have the top blown off.
How do you handle life when your best-laid plans implode? When circumstances beyond your control wreck your day, your week, your year? When illness dogs you. When COVID grounds you. When your job is shaky and so is your marriage. When a loved one leaves, through a door or through the clouds.
Israel has God in their presence, a blessed life, yet they whine for more. They want a king like all the other kingdoms. So God grants what they thought they wanted, a tall handsome man who looked kingly. In Saul, they got a gorgeous man who “physically” has all his boxes checked, but hides a fatal spiritual flaw—He trusts in himself.
His pile of boxes is filled with jealousy and murder rather than treasure and promise. He dumps a crate load of his insecurity on the people while chases with murderous intent, a loyal friend. His envy destroys him and God “regrets” ever making him king.
Then comes King David, a shepherd boy who didn’t look quite so kingly. But David knows who is in control and builds his life around that truth. He knows where to look when the days, and weeks, and years look bleak. Instead of dumping a mountain of “promising” boxes on the people, filled with useless junk, they get a gift-wrapped package with a bow on top—a caring king who truly loves God.
So in this COVID-crazy world, with racial unrest, record fires, and hurricanes pounding, a contentious election looming and the White House reeling from the virus—our foundations are shaking. But don’t be like Saul, trusting in self, be like David who knew where to find safety and treasure.
These words of David and other like-minded men are God’s golden gift of hope and peace for us:
I look up to the mountains— does my help come from there?
My help comes from the Lord, who made heaven and earth!
He will not let you stumble; the one who watches over you will not slumber.
Indeed, he who watches over Israel never slumbers or sleeps.
The Lord himself watches over you!
The Lord stands beside you as your protective shade.
The sun will not harm you by day nor the moon at night.
The Lord keeps you from all harm and watches over your life.
The Lord keeps watch over you as you come and go,
both now and forever.
Psalm 121:1-8