Like a message in a bottle.....

I have been busy for several days going through boxes of "stuff" for a customer.  His instructions were for me to dig through the boxes and pull out the items I could sell, then clean them and price them and sell them for him.  I rarely let myself get talked into things like this.  Being in the business of buying and reselling, I am accustomed to earning 100% of the profit on such items, rather than a much smaller percentage if the merchandise is owned by someone else.  But this time I am doing it for a customer that has been good to me over the years.  

In the boxes were various old tools, used by someone that had a workshop and knew what each tool was designed to do.  I'm fairly "savvy" when it comes to tools so I thought this job wouldn't take very long.  That was, until I started going through some of the additional boxes and found tools and parts for repairing and modifying firearms.  I wish I knew more about that sort of thing but I found myself having to research lots of items to determine their value. 

One small box contained such repair parts which were from a company in Arizona.  One by one I tossed them in the growing pile of things I needed to research.  Then I noticed one of the small boxes was open and a card was sticking out of the box.  Thinking it might be some information that would help me determine its value, I pulled out the card and started reading.  To my surprise, the card said:

As children bring their broken toys,

With tears for us to mend,

I brought my broken dreams to God,

Because He is my friend.

But then, instead of leaving Him in peace to work alone,

I hung around and tried to help,

With ways that were my own.

At last I snatched them back and cried,

"How can you be so slow?"

"My child," He said, "What could I do?

You never did let go."

I cannot begin to tell you how much I needed the message on that card.  Coming from a box most people would call junk, I found a treasure from God with a powerful message for me.  Maybe you can also see yourself in the message of that card, just like I did. 

We hear sermons, have Bible studies, and even sing hymns that give us the encouragement to turn our problems, concerns, difficult times, and our sins over to God.  And sometimes we are quick with the effort of talking to God about everything that is out of kilter with us.  I must confess, like the person that wrote the words on that card, I am guilty of taking things to God that need fixed, and then hanging around to help him fix them.  The message is simple.....Take it to God and let him do his work.  We have already proven we are helpless when it comes to fixing everything. 

Now you can say with renewed meaning"  "Let go and let God!"

<ronbwriting@gmail.com>