I was at my computer when wife Martha, The Gracious Mistress of the Parsonage, walked in and said, “Are you ready?”
Caught by surprise, I looked up and, staring at her, said, “What are you talking about?”
“You remember what you said this morning? That we can go to to get our blood drawn for the doctor?”
I looked at her, not knowing what she was talking about, and said, “What doctor are you talking about?”
“Don’t tell me you don’t remember me telling you about our appointment?”
Not knowing what else to do, I got up, followed her out to the car, and we went to have our blood drawn.
When I’m doing some work on my computer, I can hear what’s going on around me, but I don’t understand, and I’m not really listening to it. I’m afraid I say “yes,” not knowing what I’m “yessing” to, which can get me into trouble. Believe me, it has.
Martha recently approached me while I was working and said, “I’ll take that $50 you promised me to get groceries.”
I looked at her and said, “I don’t know what you’re talking about.”
“You know, I asked you this morning if you could give me $50 to get groceries this afternoon. You said you would.”
I pulled out my wallet and all I had was $50. I handed it to her, and then I thought about it. Is it a coincidence that she asked for $50, and all I had in my wallet was $50? Did she really ask me for $50?
If I only paid attention, maybe I could figure some of these things out. I don’t remember telling her I’d give her $50 for groceries, but after all, I’m not going to infer to her she might not be telling the truth.
While she was gone, I pondered this subject for a while. Then, I had a wonderful thought that maybe I could get even with her. I thought about it, put it together very nicely, and was ready to execute it when she walked in.
She came home from shopping and put the bags on the table, so I went to the kitchen, looked at her, and said, “Can I have the apple fritter you promised me now?”
I was laughing on the inside and trying to keep it from coming to the outside. There was no way she was going to get out of this one.
Looking at me seriously, she said, “Oh, my dear, I got that apple fritter, and it smelled so good I ate it on the way home.”
Thinking about this, I was reminded of a special verse in Romans.
My spiritual life is based on
my hearing the “word of God.”
“So then faith cometh by hearing, and hearing by the word of God.”
— Romans 10: 17
I can read the Bible but not really hear what God is saying to me. If I don’t hear what God is saying, how can I live a life that’s pleasing unto the Lord? Daily I need to so surrender to God’s word that I understand what He really wants of me.
Dr. Snyder is a former pastor who lives with the Gracious Mistress of the Parsonage, wife Martha, in Ocala, Fla. His email is [email protected]
