Occasional Devotional--Bad Carpet...

Occasional Devotional--Bad Carpet

Psalm 105:4—…Seek His face always.

When Lance and I went on our house hunting trip in Delaware, we bought a house that was let’s say…the before picture of an HGTV episode showing a badly decorated room.  The previous owners spent a lot of money on ugly carpet.  The living and dining room were the highest grade of tacky salmon/peach carpet; however, it was the den that took the prize for the worst carpet known to man.  It was black, brown, beige, hi-lo pile swirl.

Since we were newly married at the time and I had mononucleosis, no job, and the Delaware housing was expensive, I knew that any wishes of “can we get new carpet?” would not be granted. 

After mono and after I landed a job, Lance and I were quietly watching M*A*S*H reruns when we smelled a funky smell.  We looked at our black, terrierish dog, Scooter.  He had a sheepish look on his face which meant that he had deposited a “present” for us in our den.

This is where the “seek and ye shall find” came into place.  Lance and I could smell the offense, but couldn’t find it in our black, brown, beige hi/lo swirl.  Lance took the high road of tiptoeing carefully while I my “bionic” nose was closer to the floor.  After a few minutes we came nose to toe and found what we were seeking. 

God asks us to be just as diligent when we seek His face.  The rub I have with some Christians is that they think their way of seeking God is the best way.  God is too simple and too complex and created human beings too intricately to only find him in one method.  God is simple in that he asks us to believe and we can live eternally, but he’s more complex in that just as we have different personalities, God has many serendipitous forms to capture our attention. 

One day I watched one of my bossy, know-it-all friends badgering another friend who was earnestly asking questions.  Friend #1 said that her way to know God was right. They had two completely different personalities.  So, friend #1 needed God to have steps 1, 2, 3 to know him, whereas, friend #2 needed to ponder questions and come to Him in a round about way.  Then friend #1 started to argue with friend #2 about her approach to God.

So, I asked friend #1, “How did you drive to my house today?”  She replied that she had come from Holcomb Bridge Road and turned left and wound around and then turned left again to my house. Next, I asked friend #2 the same question.  She replied, “I took a right, right, a right and then a left.  I said, “Who drove the correct way?”   They both said they came the right way from where they lived.

That’s how I think people who are seeking God come to him…the right way from where they are.  For some people, seeking God means to delve into deep Bible study because they are knowledge seekers; for some, it’s a long walk in nature where they see everything about God’s creation; for some it’s serving God where they see who God is and what he’s about; for some, it’s chasing after a cause that brings them closer to their pursuit of His face.

Which way is right?  God is powerful and can bring people to him from any direction.  Even individuals in families can come from different ways. In my marriage, I tend to see God in ordinary things in life, whereas, Lance sees God when he is doing acts of service for people. 

God is a God of freedom; and freedom lets us have individual pursuits.  The point is not how we seek his face; the point is …”to seek his face always”.

Love Your Guts!

Mama Chick

Jenny Lou Jones