I’m sure you’ve experienced the proverbial “between a rock and a hard place.” Sometimes you find yourself there of your own accord; sometimes it seems as if the Lord gently guides you there to get your attention. However you find yourself there, the choices aren’t always so wonderful. The funniest story I’ve heard in some time happened to my brother Jeff who left a management position with UPS to answer the call to ministry several years ago. He is planting a Foursquare church in Concord, N.C.
Recently, after getting into the shower Jeff looked around for soap. There was none to be found. He then looked around for some shampoo, but what he found only frustrated him. He did find some shampoo … for their dog. The next bottle contained conditioner … also for their dog. Jeff opened the shampoo bottle, took a whiff, decided it wouldn’t hurt him, and rinsed his hair with the pet stuff. When he told me, I cracked up and couldn’t resist needling him big time. He quickly responded: “Hey, it’s been three months and I haven’t had any fleas since.” We both laughed out loud! The fact that my brother would be willing to share this story with me was courageous. Of course, he didn’t know that I would put it out to thousands of recipients in our prayer email.
The book of James encourages us to “Consider it pure joy, my brothers, whenever you face trials of many kinds…” (James 1:2). Having a pre-determined attitude to roll with the punches is not a bad idea. It will save you lots of frustrating moments and just may pave the way to a solution. Keep your chin up and check the shower caddy before you get wet!
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By: Glenn Burris, Jr., general supervisor
