In elementary school, I had to get up early and walk to school because I didn’t have a bike like the other guys in my neighborhood. Mama and Daddy told me they were sorry they couldn’t afford to buy me one.
Although they both had full time jobs, one night I overheard my folks struggling to figure out which bills to pay and which would have to wait.
After hearing how hard it was for them to simply make ends meet, I never mentioned that bike again.
For the next year, I just kept walking to school and gave up any hope for a bike. Then during my second year in school on Christmas morning, they surprised me with a brand new red bike.
I learned later that Mama kept working at her day-job in department store, but took on a night-job babysitting. I thought it was their way of helping pay the bills. But it I wasn’t. It was their sacrificial way of showing me how much they loved me.
If you look around and do like I did, you’ll end up comparing yourself to others. And you know where that leads. You’ll feel mistreated, neglected and thinking that God has forgotten you.
From an earthly perspective, you’ll feel like God is busy taking care of the rest of the world. But from a heavenly perspective, Our Father has already sacrificed for us more than we can even imagine. And, he is busy at work behind the scene. He’s never too busy for even one lost sheep or one wounded sparrow that falls to the ground.
As you begin this week, remember, God’s ways and timetable are not the same as yours. Our job is to wait and keep following our all-loving, all-powerful, all-knowing, and all-present Father. Anticipate how he will work things out behind the scene. If he thinks that red bike is what’s best for you, it’s on its way.
Bill