CONVERSATIONS AND CONCLUSIONS

In a conversation with a friend, she brought forth the fact that she realizes she cannot fix everything, that she has to turn it over to God in prayer, and leave it in His capable care and caring.
Because I, too, am a “fixer” personality, in my mind I kept returning to that conversation and this morning as I woke with it on my mind, I thought back to my childhood. I grew up in central Maine where as a young child I really loved riding my tricycle. One spring day when I sat on its seat, ready to ride our long semi-circular driveway, my knees bumped the handlebars. That was not going to work. I hopped off, ran into the house, told Mamma the problem, and before I knew it, Daddy arrived with some tools in hand, loosened a special bolt and nut, raised the handlebars, tightened the nut and bolt, and I was off on my very merry way with no more bumping knees! What joy I had that day and I was set for the rest of that spring, summer, and well into the fall when the tricycle went back into storage for another season.
You have probably guessed that by the following spring when my tricycle came out from its winter’s wraps, once again my knees hit the handlebars. This time I had no worries though, because I knew my daddy could fix the problem. I was confident when I told Mamma of the problem, only to learn that sometimes problems cannot be so easily fixed. Mamma explained that, yes, last year, Daddy had been able to raise a portion of the front of the tricycle so the handlebars were lifted but what he had done was as much as he could do; there was no extra height left. At that moment, even as a child trying to imagine wild scenarios, I understood that sometimes the answer, for that thing in particular, has to be, “No.”
With that response came disappointment; however, I knew the love of my parents was as great as it had been previously and I was aware they saw my banished hopes. I doubt such a thing as a larger tricycle was available but if so, money wasn’t, so they couldn’t automatically say, “We’ll get you a bigger tricycle.” What I do remember is a used scooter appeared as a riding replacement for my tricycle and it was to be shared with my brother who was three-and-a-half years older than I.
When we are children, we need someone to turn to for help with troubles too big for our minds and bodies to handle. And maybe it’s because we have had capable human examples before us that we have become adults who feel we should be able to take care of it all including fixing everything that comes down the pike, until, like with the tricycle, there comes something that just can’t be fixed by human hands, and then what? Where do we turn, unless we have made a practice of knowing from where our real help comes? Let’s not wait for tricycle troubles to arise before we practice calling on the help at hand, using every resource available, and, here is a point not to be missed, teaching our children to do so as well.
“Give all your worries and cares to God, for he cares about you.” (I Peter 6:7 NLT)
© Marilyn Sue (Libby) Moore 4-4-2010