It's taken me years to learn
that. In some ways, I'm still in the process of learning it, partly because I'm
kind of slow when it comes to these things...
But I digress. I used to be
superstitious when I was younger, and I'd gotten myself involved in some weird
habits invented solely for placating my mind. All it took was something as
simple as a complete stranger walking between my parents and me whenever we'd
be momentarily separated, say, at the grocery store. (I guess I thought it was
bad luck that anyone should ever walk between us because it was sort of like an
act of separation.) I don't really care to remember whatever
"habit(s)" I sold myself into slavery to, but I will say it had a
grip on a lot of my thinking.
It's apparently pretty
common for folks to develop these kind of habits relating to superstition and
"powers" that we felt we needed to invoke in order get whatever we
wanted or needed. For example, a friend of mine cast a spell on his BAR exam
some time ago to ensure that he would do well on it. When the particular exam
date drew nearer, he elected to postpone it to jump at an opportunity to do
something else, a postponement that ultimately hurt him.
In middle school I'd
developed a crush on a girl I hadn't seen since 3rd grade. In 7th grade I
happened to be in Cincinnati on a choir tour, and during a daytime excursion my
host took my roommate and me to an arboretum in Eden Park which had a wishing well.
I grabbed a penny and wished that this particular girl would marry me someday.
When I started high school, the hormones had more fully kicked in, and I came
to regret the Cincinnati wishing-well incident. Of course, it didn't help that
I was struggling with crushes on multiple girls as well as a lack of confidence
and communication skills. [That's adolescence for you!]
I had begun to believe I was
cursed -- much like the Cubs with their pennant drought -- and rued wishing
that that girl would be mine when I hadn't seen her in years, and when I was
desiring someone else. And even during the last half of the Aughts I'd pondered
making a trip to Cincinnati for the purpose of reversing the wish I'd made in
7th grade, wishing instead that God would decide who I should be with.
I still haven't been back to
Cincinnati, but maybe it isn't something I have to worry about anymore. After
all, it is written: Submit yourselves therefore to God. Resist
the devil, and he will flee from you. Draw near to God, and he will draw near
to you. (James 4:7-8, ESV [”http://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=james%204:7-8&version=ESV”])
In other words, I shouldn't try to make another wish (especially in that
particular well) solely for the purpose of undoing the previous one. God
doesn't "undo." He instead takes away the entire issue all the way to
the root and replaces it with something even better.
I've been blessed to have
the friends I've made in the last few months, and it's kind of funny, lately
I've actually been complimented by a few female friends just for being who I
am. It's weird, because knowing where I came from, I'd never received any and
therefore never had any reason to expect it. But, with accepting the challenges
that God has given me as a charge to my personhood, I can see myself more
clearly and accept said compliments with grace. In the end, the wish I wished
when I tossed the penny into the Eden Park fountain in Cincinnati will come
true, albeit a bit amended (thankfully). It's true: He does have more
power than wishing wells!
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