This nugget of wisdom came to me on the 2nd hour inside the 5th store and I haven't found the bag. (I need a bag like I need a hole in the head! But the search continues.)
I actually found it in the fund-raising auction of our clan reunion. Unfortunately, when I reached my price ceiling, I stopped bidding. Naturally, I was outbid by a cousin.
What sort of a bag is it? One in a bright neutral color; with a sweeping view of all its contents when zipped opened, zero weight, 10-inches height; and has a 2-inch-wide straps that would hang just so from my shoulders.
No bag organizer please—it's additional weight.
The bag has to have compartments for: my reading glasses, shades, cellphone, business and credit cards, pens, notebook, camera, lipstick and wallet. They should all be apart, otherwise I'd spend all day looking for them—as I do now. When my phone rings, I turn into a mad scavenger.
Compartments.
Funny, but the bag seems to be a microcosm of my life. My days have become so compartmentalized, I missed last Wednesday's prayer meeting in church.
It was raining, with no drivers in sight—JC wasn't home yet, neither was Tony. Riding a tricycle would have have been it, had the weather been fair. But waiting for one under an umbrella made me ask, “What if I got sick?” I had to be in school the next day.
So I stayed home solving crosswords.
I had put praying with fellow believers in a compartment—tricycle in fair weather or car in foul weather.
In Jesus' time, there were no tricycles nor cars; paved roads and sheds were few.
How did He manage feeding the hungry, healing the sick, narrating parables, praying and fasting in the wilderness, and traveling from place to place bestowing grace and advocating forgiveness?
No passage in the Bible suggests that M-W-F were for healing and T-TH-S were for feeding. Everything was done adhoc, at need.
Although things should not run on metered gas or kph, there are non-negotiable days for which we should make time—come rain or come shine.
Note to Grace (me): grace is never given in neat little compartment bags. It comes adhoc, at need. It flows freely through many ways, in various forms and shapes—under the sun's heat or the moon's shadow.
4 comments:
Aray! If God had us in compartments, we'd be all dead by the time He reaches us. Isn't it great that any time we holler, or even before we holler, He's right there! Praise God!
No compartments, no schedules--grace simply comes, all the time.
Natamaan ako dun. Hahaha. It has been a fully-loaded, super stressful month lately. My prayer time is compromised. Thanks for reminding me that this should not be.
You're not alone, Ryan. We all fall into the trap every so often, especially when we're busy.
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