Be Careful What you pray for...
Print ViewHave you ever heard the phrase, "Be careful what you pray for"?
As a small child this made no sense to me because I had been taught that God answers all prayer - ALL PRAYERS. What could be hard about that concept of faith AND why would we be careful of what we prayed for? As my faith matured, I soon began to realize that the teachings instilled in me were actually true. God does answer all prayers. Not always the way that we expect, but answered they are.With that maturity, I also came to believe that God has a sense of humor! So much so that even in His answering my prayers, that humor would sometimes be quite evident. This morning was one of those times! As I was hurriedly going about my daily chores (those which seem to never end and when they do they need repeating), I began to become frustrated. In that frustration, my thoughts soon turned to talking to myself and asking, "When will I ever get a break? When can I just enjoy the air and beauty of spring without WORKING while doing so?"
God, in His divine wisdom and sense of humor soon answered those questions that were heard only by Him. The task at hand was to repair an angel figurine that had lost part of its wing. It is one of my favorite and it seemed that a little super glue might fix it right up. I grabbed the figurine and carefully positioned it upon my desk. I grabbed the super glue and carefully placed it upon my desk as well. Everyone knows just how ADHESIVE that stuff can be where you don't want it to be! While thinking this, I kept reminding myself to BE CAREFUL. I opened the tube and ever so carefully began to GENTLY squeeze the tube. I aimed the applicator to the exact place it needed to go. When no glue exited the tube, I squeezed with a little more pressure. Again, no glue, so I applied a bit more pressure. Still, with no glue to be seen, I began wondering if it was the tube that I had used last and whether or not it was actually opened at the tip. Immediately following that thought came my answer. OH, YEAH! It had been opened. The stuff was now gushing out of the tube and spreading EVERYWHERE. I scrambled to removed the important papers that were near it only to realize that it had gone all over my fingers. OK, DO NOT TOUCH FINGERS TOGETHER! DO NOT TOUCH ANYTHING!
It was too late. In the next moment, I was looking at my thumb and forefinger which had become SUPER glued together. I hurried to the bathroom to try to wash it off. NO SUCCESS. So, there I stand in the bathroom, glaring at my fingers which were glued together, in quite a serious manner, and wondered what to do next. At that moment, Scott realized my situation and came to my assistance. All he could do was ask, "Mom! What are you going to do?"....GOOD QUESTION!
After several minutes of very warm water and lots of soap, I felt the glue begin to give my fingers their freedom again. Once they were no longer attached to one another, I began to apply a very thick hand lotion in hopes that the large globs of glue would come off. There I stood, with white, lotion covered fingers which still had an enormous amount of hardened super glue on them. I returned to to my desk fearing what damage I had done. Droplets of glue are forever protecting my desk calendar. Some of reminder notes are permanently attached to one another. With great determination to repair my angel, I grabbed the glue once more and this time was able to attach the broken piece without bathing in the glue. Proud of my success, I returned the angel to the place where it originally stood.
As the dust of this event began to settle, I sat with the HUGE container of hand lotion. I began to apply as much as possible, and then some, to the areas of glue on my hands. Under the fingernails, on top of the fingernails, from the tips of my fingers to the palm of my hands I could feel and see the dried glue. As I massaged the lotion and began to peel away small bits. I could hear the birds of spring chirping in the nearby tree. As I continued to massaged the lotion and peel the glue, I took several enjoyable moments to look outside the window and witness the beauty of spring. I also took a few moments to proudly look out at the flower bed that I have spent several days working in. It was during that time that I recalled the phrase “Be careful what you pray for!” In my frustration, I was longing to do exactly what I was able to do with glue covered fingers. And with that thought, peace entered my heart as I spoke the words, “OK, God! I know…ALL PRAYERS ARE ANSWERED!
May all of your days be sunshine days and may they be void of SUPER GLUE events.
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