For years, The Sweetheart carried change in his right pocket. Not just a couple of quarters for a Coke. Not a dime or two to dash into the telephone booth. (Yes, we can remember those!) He carried a large handful of change every day.
I was frustrated that after 35 years of marriage my beloved was still carrying a pocket full of change. I could hear him coming a mile away and recognize him in a room even if I was blindfolded. He jingled when he walked and it was distinct. It always sounded the same; on the downbeat, a jingle, on the upbeat it was more like a breath before the next clanging of copper and silver. (Do they still even use copper in our pennies?)
As time and methods have evolved down through the years, we no longer need so many coins. A bottle of pop, or soda, usually costs more than a couple of quarters, and most all vending machines take paper money now.
If you see a phone booth on the corner it probably belongs to Superman, not AT & T. While living overseas we didn’t even need those gold and silver euros for parking; we paid with our phones!
So one day, after hearing me gripe for years about “getting with the times”, he did it. He emptied his pockets for the very last time and added the last of his coins to his savings basket.
He no longer jingled; he could now sneak up on others if he was so inclined.
I couldn’t hear him coming down a hallway.
What had I done? I had begged for him to change, I had teased and bugged him until he had given in. Now I wanted the jingle back. There were even a few times we NEEDED the change!
I wanted it back because it was a part of him. I insisted HE change to please me but when I finally got what I had asked for I discovered it wasn’t what I wanted at all.
Why do we think we ALWAYS know what is best for someone else? We are constantly trying to change them, to mold them into what WE want them to be.
God didn’t make us all the same and that is a wonderful thing. I have habits and annoyances that drive The Sweetheart up the wall but he loves me for who I am and realizes he cannot change me after all of these years.
Me? I keep trying. Ugh.
How many times have we been guilty of things like this in the spiritual?
We pray, think we have all of the answers, even go so far as to tell God what we want done, how things should be adapted according to our desires.
I think that sometimes God sits back, folds His arms and says, “Okay, have it your way.”
“And He gave them their request; but sent leanness into their soul.” Psalm 106:15
Then we are left with the results. There is no jingle or happiness in our lives because we have tried to manipulate the Almighty into doing what WE think is best. Instead, we should be trusting the One who sees down the road.
He is the Master conductor. We can trust Him and His ways. He does all things for our good, looking ahead to make sure every piece of the puzzle will fit. He sees that we are not only taken care of but that we thrive.
What kind of change are you pushing for?
Maybe you are trying to force it, wanting too much, too fast, or trying to bargain with God in order to get your way.
“The LORD Almighty has sworn, ‘Surely, as I have planned, so it will be, and as I have purposed, so it will happen.'” Isaiah 14:24.
Remember that pocket change. You might get what you ask for but you won’t like the end result.
Let that handful of silver stay in your pocket until God says, “It’s time.”
