Last week we moved our oldest daughter into her
college dorm room. Ok, yes we cried. But before the good-byes the day consisted
of going toe to toe with 5000 other highly emotional and over-protective
parents for dibs on command strips, extension cords, and reading lamps for our
babies! Grappling for supplies was part
of the task, the other work was getting all the stuff up to the 4th
floor of her dormitory.
At one point during the move in, I found myself
waiting in line for the elevator; a line that stretched from Gainesville to
Wesley Chapel. It has reminded me of a time when the same daughter was just a
toddler and then too, I waited in the same type of massive line, twice for
her. It was back when the Toy Story 2 Movie was coming out on…ahhh…
VHS! The autumn of 2000, Toys R Us was allowing parents to pre-order the video to
ensure that our little darlings would have the videotape by Christmas. The holiday was just weeks away and the line
was long! In terms of popularity, Toy
Story 2 was the year 2000’s version of Frozen.
I remember waiting for what seemed like three semesters in the line. By
securing my copy of this Disney animated classic, it was certain that my kid
would be able to fully celebrate the birth of Jesus. (Marketing works!) I paid
the money and started to leave the store when I realized they had under charged
me. Against the temptation to run, I went back to the customer service counter and
let them know I was undercharged about $10. They thanked me for my honesty, and
then kindly sent me to the rear of the line to do it all over again! And I did
it. I know, I was so naive.
As I stood in line for the dorm elevator my selfless
service done 15 years ago was made right.
You see, as I was waiting in the dorm line it was discovered that
Kasey’s room was actually on the other side of the building and accessed by a
different elevator! When we went to the other elevators there was not a soul in
line. We went right on, and in two uneventful trips we had everything moved in.
The Lord is faithful!
James, the little brother of Jesus says, “Humble yourself in the sight of the
Lord and he will lift you up.” Of course, I’m just kidding about this being
some kind of repayment for faithfulness. But it is true that when we humble
ourselves, God takes notice. And we are promised that the Lord will lift up the
humble. It may not be today, but in due time the Lord will lift you up. As the
old preachers use to say, “God may not be on your time. But he is always right
on time!”
“Lord,
help us to humble ourselves in your sight. Restrain us from the temptation to
exalt ourselves or to lift ourselves up.
We know that you are faithful. And may we find hope and strength today
in the fact that your timing is always perfect. We pray this in the name of,
and mindful of the one who humbled himself and was raised up right on time by
the power of God. Amen”
You are Loved,
Pastor Terry
