Reflections By Dr. Richard Reed

In the book, “God is Not A Vending Machine…” the author shares that after weeks of excited planning, Audrey and Marvin had just discovered that they would not be able to purchase their first home after all. Audrey was taking it calmly, reading Winnie the Pooh and the Blustery Day to three-year-old Rocky in the living room. Marvin was not doing as well. He was sulking in the back bedroom of their trailer home.

Rocky, an energetic and talkative blonde, had apparently noticed his depression.

“Is daddy sad, mommy?” Rocky asked.

“Yes he is,” Audrey replied.

“Can I go help him feel better?” Rocky asked.

“Daddy might want to be left alone,” Audrey answered, “but you can to see.”

Rocky toddled to the back bedroom and knocked on the door. “Daddy, mommy said I could come in.” Marvin recognized that as a slight exaggeration but let him in anyway.

“Are you sad, daddy?”

“Yes, I sure am,” Marvin admitted.

“Why?” Rocky asked.

Rocky’s dad explained that they would not be able to purchase the home they wanted because they couldn’t get enough money, and that made him feel sad.

“Can I pray for you to feel better, daddy?” Rocky asked.

Anxious to encourage his relationship with God, Marvin said yes. Rocky lay down on the bed, closed his eyes, and said two sentences:

“Dear Jesus, thank you that we don’t have enough money to buy a house. And thank you that some day we will have enough money to buy a house. Amen.”

Marvin said that he was not sentimental, but on that day he wept hot tears in his bed and hugged his son who showed him the attitude that God wanted. Rocky was only repeating what he had heard in their family prayers. If a favorite toy broke, they would pray as a family in thankfulness for the happy times they had with the toy. If Audrey was sick, they would all thank God for keeping her spirits up. Rocky had learned from his parents, over and over again, that prayer is not chiefly a series of requests, but a grateful joy for God’s graciousness under all circumstances. “Thank you that we don’t have enough money to buy a house.”

When we really love someone, our chief desire is to please that person. If we really love God, our chief desire will be to please God in all that we do and in all we desire. It is not always easy to pray as should, to act as we should, or to do all that God desires for us. We must remember that in all things to give thanks for God who does know our needs and does understand our lives. Trusting in God is always the best way to live each day.

Grace and Peace,

Pastor Richard