It happened. A few days ago, the long-awaited for event finally happened. My wish bracelet fell off, finally. About an hour before it finally broke, I realized something. I had always imagined that my bracelet would fall off when the big thread in the back became too thin. I kept my focus on the back of my bracelet, checking the thick thread often hoping to see it getting thinner each day. Although, as time passed by, I saw very little change. Day after day, week after week, there was no noticeable difference, but I kept on looking. It never occurred to me, until right before the thing fell off, that the bracelet would finally fall off when all the threads in the front got too weak. I told you how, at times, the beads would fall off and land all over the floor. Well, a little while before it fell off, I noticed that one last string in the front held the last three tiny beads. Only then did refocus my attention and begin to think, “This thing is not going to fall off like I thought, it is going to break from the front!”
Now my husband would say that I have no common sense, and I should have realized that it would break from the front before the last string popped. I prefer to say that sometimes I get so focused on what I believe should happen that I fail to see other alternatives. When my bracelet finally hit the floor, I couldn’t help but notice. I stared at the broken pieces laying on the floor, and I began to wonder, “What now? Should I hear some great trumpet sound?” Then, of course, I began to think, “Yippee! Now I can get ready for my wish to come true!!!”
Oh, I wish life was that easy. In case you are worried that I really believe that these wish bracelets will make my dreams come true, rest assured, I am not that gullible. I do lack common sense at times, but I know better than to put my hope in straw. However, I do believe that God knows how simple-minded I can be, so he chose to use something as ordinary as a straw bracelet to teach me some important spiritual lessons.
My life, like my bracelet, was something that I thought I had figured out, but it sure hasn’t turned out like I thought. When Holt’s accident happened, it was an experience that forced me to see that things were not going to end like I thought they would. Since that day, my expectations for life have been refocused and changed. I do not like the changes, but I have to accept that someone much greater than me controls the outcome. God’s view of life is not limited like mine; he sees far more than a thread or two. He sees how each of our lives are woven together and how we impact one another. Although I may feel like my life is a second-rate plan at times, God has promised me that he can take even the shreds of a life and give them a new meaning and purpose. If I keep trusting Him, God promises he can work together all things for good.(Romans 8:28) I sure do need that in my life; I need all the good I can get.
Another thing I have realized is that God sees many more solutions to a problem than I do. I only saw one way for my bracelet to pop, and I kept my sole focus there. When I saw nothing changing in that one big thread, I got discouraged. All the while, other places on my bracelet were changing and shifting. I was so consumed with looking at one solution that I failed to realize that every time I heard a bead fall to the floor, that was a sound of things changing. My situation was not near as stagnant as I thought it was.
Even my prayers are similar to my bracelet. I pray for God to change one specific area of my life in the way I think he should. I focus on one situation changing. All the while, God may be shifting and moving in areas that I fail to notice. I get discouraged because I feel like God is not answering my prayers, but maybe God is going to answer those prayers in ways that I don’t see coming.
That is one way the devil gets to me. Each morning when I wake up, I hear Satan asking, “Is anything really different in your life today from yesterday?” Sadly, many mornings I lay in bed and answer, “No, I do not see any real changes.” Then, God has to refocus my attention and remind me to trust that He is still working for my good even when I do not see it. Every single day, God is working for me, not against me. The results may not be immediate, but things are changing.
Trust….that is what it always goes back to. Trusting that God is working even when I cannot see it. Whether it is due to my lack of focus or the time it takes for some prayers to be answered, God is always doing more for us than we realize.
Maybe you, like me, have had to refocus your idea of the “perfect” life story. From death to sickness to heartbreak, problems in life can shift your focus and make you look for an alternate ending. Keep looking up. God will not leave you in the middle of a storm without calming the wind and rain. You can’t count on things falling off like you thought they would, but you can always count on Jesus to help you pick up the pieces.
The Holt Rowland Foundation… still praying for God to use our broken wishes to help us leave a mark for good.
