I pulled
the tissue from the blue metallic colored square box and used it to blow my
nose. “Oooh, this is nice. What is it?”
The process brought coolness to my nose as though the box was a tiny
refrigerator keeping the tissues at a refreshing temperature. Had the box been sitting near the
air-conditioning vent? No. Every tissue emanated the same coolness. Right down to the very last one. Every time I used a tissue the same cooling
sensation soothed my nose. I’d never
experienced this before and I was intrigued.
When I inspected the box, I read all about Cool Touch™, cooling,
soothing and soft! My word, I didn’t
know this existed. I usually buy the
generic brand, which is nothing like this!
“After all,” I reasoned, “tissues are disposables and I do use them in
great quantity. Don’t spend a lot of money
on them.” I was quite satisfied with my choice, until I used these. I have now discovered something far superior
to any tissue I’ve ever used or knew existed.
My life
experiences have often been like that as well.
When I’m at an impasse, a tight spot[1] or
a dilemma, I have one, maybe two solutions. But what I’ve experienced is that
God has a myriad of options for every situation. At least 99.9% more that I
could begin to imagine. Here are just a few examples from my own life.
In August
after my freshman year in college I was dating literally the “man of my
dreams.” He was everything I had wanted
in a husband and more. I believed I had
delighted myself in the Lord and Wayne
was my reward[2].
By October the guy ditched me. I was
hurt initially but maintained a thread of hope.
That hope mocked me and then I got mad at God! I ranted at God, threw tantrums in front of my
roommates and tried numerous times to fall in love with, well anybody. Nightmares of dream guy with a fiancée or
worse, a wife, haunted my sleep.
My life
went differently[3]
than I’d hoped. About the time I resolved the hurt, twenty-two agonizing months
and four days later to be exact, I received a letter from him. It was an out-of- the-blue option. The romantic whirl-wind relationship that
followed had not been among my options. I
could not have imagined[4]
that in the waiting God was preparing both of us for a timelier, healthier,
richer relationship than either of us could have created.
You might
think I learned that lesson, but not quite.
We married
and unsuccessfully sought jobs in Beirut,
Lebanon[5]. We were at the end of our money and our “only
option” was to return to the U.S. On a whim we thought, “We may never be in
this neighborhood again so let’s visit the family’s homeland, Iran.” We did and within 48 hours of arriving we both
landed jobs. However, we would have
struggled with cross-cultural living if we hadn’t had the time in Beirut under the tutelage
of our aunt and uncle. God’s option[6]
gave us more than we knew to request.
We returned
to the U.S.
two years later. After another four
years and two sons, we started a business.
In that process we accumulated significant debt. It got to the point where we had to close-up
shop. Wayne took a minimum-wage job in order to put
food on the table, which was quite humbling for a Tau Beta Pi engineer. I could not figure out how such low wages
would meet our normal bills, let alone pay back outstanding loans. I had very few options, none of them adequate.
Our situation was impossible.
In a very
creative way[7],
God totally resurrected our business. A
hefty commission put us back in the game, the debt was retired quickly and
we’ve enjoyed 32 more years of business.
Since then there have been many similar challenges and just as many
God-designed options and solutions.
A few years
later I felt directed to look for a new house, moving us out of the city and
into the suburbs. In the time it took me
to find the house we wanted, our pending business opportunities had dried up
and we were more focused on survival than acquiring more square footage. I
don’t remember throwing any tantrums this time, but I was disillusioned. I thought I understood God’s direction, but
the “evidence” proved differently. Six
months later our financial situation was totally reversed and we bought a house
after only a ten-minute walk-thru. The
house was directly behind the previous one we liked. If we’d had two nickels to
rub together earlier, we’d have bought the first house and lamented not having
the kidney-shaped pool that came with our “dream home”. God had more options for me than I could
imagine in my disappointed state. And he
preserved us by tying our hands through our finances so we would be available
for his choice.
One would
think after the years of witnessing this phenomenon I would now spend very
little time stewing over the mountainous impossibilities ahead of me. But I’m
in another tight spot[8]. This time I feel like I’m choking. I can
hardly breathe[9].
I have a choice, to work within the options I see, or look further down the
shelf at what God might be creating or imagining.
John 6 records
that Jesus saw a crowd of people approaching and he asked Philip “Where shall
we buy bread for these people to eat?”
Philip fell right into his own logic, “We don’t have enough money for
that!” Even Andrew looked at a lunch of
five barley loaves and two fish and derided, “How far can this go to feed so
many?” But verse 6 tells us that Jesus
asked this question only to test Philip because Jesus already had in mind what
he was going to do. And what did he
do? He blessed the small lunch and fed
more than 5000 people with it. This was
an option outside of the disciples’ imagination and mine!
How often
do I limit my solutions to what I know?
When the Creator of the gecko, monarch butterflies, redwood trees,
prickly pear cacti, wild piglets, green turtles, sunsets, magnolias, Bonavila
plants, sea salt, stove-pipe sponges and aloe for Cool Touch™ tissues can take
my puny impossibility and speak the solution into existence[10].
Yes, options that before I needed them didn’t even exist.
Did you
know there are other specialized tissues beyond the Cool Touch™? You could have the Ultra Soft, the Lotion
tissue or the Anti-Viral[11]
tissue that kills 99.9% of the cold and flu viruses. (read the fine print). And
have you seen those sophisticated oval tissue boxes that add a trendy pizzazz
to your décor? The options are unending!
[1] When I was desperate, I called
out, and God got me out of a tight spot.
God's angel sets up a circle of protection around us while we pray. Open your mouth and taste, open your eyes and
see - how good God is. Blessed are you who run to him. Psalm 34:6-8 The Message
[2] Delight yourself in the LORD
and he will give you the desires of your heart. Commit your way to the LORD;
trust in him and he will do this: He
will make your righteousness shine like the dawn,… Psalms 37:4-5 NIV
[3] For my thoughts
are not your thoughts, neither are your ways my ways,"
declares the LORD. As the heavens are higher than the earth, so are my ways
higher than your ways and my thoughts than your thoughts. Isaiah 55:8-9 NIV
[4] Now to him who
is able to do immeasurably more than all we ask or imagine, according to his
power that is at work within us, to him be
glory in the church and in Christ Jesus throughout all generations, for ever
and ever! Amen. Ephesians 3:20-21 NIV
[5] When Wayne
first hinted at marriage, he also informed me that he planned to join his aunt
and uncle, missionaries in Beirut,
to work with them and support himself with an engineering job. He planned to be gone one to two years. “Hold on,” I said. “I’ve been waiting for you for two years,
don’t expect me to wait around for another two.” Thinking back on it, I was bluffing. But it worked. Coincident with our engagement
and wedding came our planning for Beirut.
Two months after we were married, we boarded a freighter and headed for the Middle East. In reality, we were so naive and unaware, we
had no idea the adventure that awaited us!
[7] We were close friends with
Ellie in Michigan. Ellie moved to California.
She worked in a secretarial pool.
One day she was typing for Jim, because his regular typist was out. His letter meshed with our work and Ellie
connected him to Wayne. Jim, an international recruiter, had a job
order. Wayne
had a person qualified for that job. The
two split the commission. We were back
on our feet, a little wobbly, but standing.
The solution had been utterly out of our control or planning. One might say it was completely coincidental,
if you believe in that stuff.
[8] Disciples so
often get into trouble; still God is there every time. He’s your bodyguard, shielding every bone;…Psalm 34:19-20a The Message
[9] The cords of death entangled
me; the torrents of destruction overwhelmed me.
The cords of the grave coiled around me; the snares of death confronted
me. In my distress I called to the LORD;
I cried to my God for help. From his temple he heard my voice; my cry came
before him, into his ears. Psalms 18:4-6
NIV
[10] By faith we understand that the universe was formed
at God's command, so that what is seen was not made out of what
was visible. Hebrews 11:3 NIV
[11] http://kleenex.com/FacialTissues.aspx
This is fabulous & should be read by everyone in the world.
ReplyDeleteThe timing on this couldn't have been better. We meet with my oncologist this afternoon to decide which direction to take with my remission. One possibility is the 2nd Stem Cell Transplant which would mean 6 months out of circulation, pain, danger for the chance of perhaps 1 full year of remission (2nd SCT never exceeds first which was 2 years in my case). That procedure would be would be follwed by a regimen of low dose chemo (pill form) for the rest of my life or until it no longer worked and other therapy were applied.
ReplyDeleteThe other choice would be to simply start the follow up therapy right away and thank God for whatever He gives but it would also allow us to continue our busy lives with our family, church and building in which we live
Wisdom is required but your article affirms that the ultimate plan lies in the hand of a God who is infinitely more creative than we could imagine (99.9% you said). Thanks for that reminder as we weigh our options with our oncologist on the treatment.
Fos and Ginny
Thanks, Cindy. Happy Thanksgiving.
ReplyDeleteCindy, from time to time I had read your blog and wondered how our old friends were doing. Then I realized how wonderful and world shrinking the internet has made our world. Thank you for sharing about how God used the experiences in Beirut to prepare you for almost seamless living in Iraq, during the more peaceful years for those nations. About the same time you were there a friend of mine (single) quoted a missionary woman from that area who said about marriage that as a Christian you followed the Lord, and at some point you might look over to the side and see someone else following the Lord and you meet, and join hands and go on following the Lord without missing a single step. That sort of happened for my friend who is married now for twenty some years now. Why it didn't happen to me I am not sure, but that is OK too.
ReplyDeleteIt was certainly a tamer world back then. Horrible things have happened in those nations since then, and probably before then too. Thank God you and Wayne and your friends had your window of opportunity when you did.
In this day of economic uncertainty I remember how God kept you through the lean years. Like David when he told God that he would trust him to get him through the Goliath conflict, because he kept him from the Lion and the Bear. I think of how God was faithful to you too, and know that He will keep his children, although we often do not know his ways, they are still His Ways.