On The Fringe

 

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s a child, I have fond memories of my bedroom.  The room had two doors, one leading into my parents’ room and the other leading into the hallway.  There was also a window and a closet where “the monster” lived but he only moved into my closet at night!  The walls sported wallpaper with cowboys and Indians riding horses and the curtains on the window and the bedspread matched the wallpaper.  The floor had carpet which picked up the different hues of the wallpaper.  It was a neat place to be! 

 

Occasionally, however, the carpet became nicked and if left unattended, the carpet would fray.  This usually happened around the edge of the carpet, especially as you entered the hallway or my parents’ room.  These areas received the most traffic and the carpet would tear.  I remember my mom taking her scissors and cutting the small tufts of carpet that threatened to cause a large tear if left unattended.  I determined that if I were a piece of carpet, I would want to live in the middle of the room where it was safe and not on the fringe where it seemed all that happened was cutting and tearing. 

 

Well, guess what!  My life is not a piece of carpet, but I do find myself living on the fringe!  Every time it seems things are going well, some little tear in the carpet occurs and God grabs the scissors and cuts it away and leaves me wondering what happened.  A good case in point was one particular Sunday morning. 

 

I woke up earlier than usual because I needed to stop by and fill my car up with gas.  It was raining and the wind was gusting just a little.  As I turned into the gas station, however, the wind picked up and the rain changed direction from falling straight down to blowing sideways in sheets.  So here I am, outside, in the pouring rain, holding a cold metal pump, and all the while I’m taking a second shower.  $7.50 is all I could muster into the tank before I abandoned my quest. 

 

After putting the nozzle back in the pump, I ran around to get into my car.  The car wouldn’t open.  I put my hands into my pocket for my keys and you guessed it sports fans, no keys.  I checked every pocket I had twice but no keys.  A look through the window of the car confirmed my worst nightmare; the keys were locked in the car, waving at me from the ignition!  Fortunately, I hadn’t locked my cell phone in the car, so I called a locksmith to come open my car.  Thirty minutes later, he arrived, opened my car, and took my money! 

 

I now had only 45 minutes to get to church in order to teach Sunday school.  I drove back to my apartment, took another shower, changed my wet clothes (even my socks were soaked), left the apartment and arrived at the church with one minute to spare.  I did not break the speed limit on my way for those of you who are wondering. 

 

Like most of you, I found myself wondering why this had happened.  All I was trying to do was get to church to have a Sunday school lesson.  Why was I having such a difficult time?  While standing inside the cashier’s room at the station, I saw two fire trucks pass by with their lights and sirens flashing.  I began to think that had I filled my tank and continued on, I might have been in a car accident due to the high winds and the falling rain.  Any number of things I never even thought of could have happened out there on the Interstate.  Moreover, the time I spent waiting for the locksmith allowed me to have a wonderful conversation with the cashier. 

 

As I’ve reflected over the antics of that Sunday morning, Romans 8:28 has come to mind more than once.  Here are the words of Paul, “And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love him, who have been called according to his purpose.”  In the most trying and difficult times of our lives we often misquote this passage.  God uses all things, even the bad things, for good but the passage never says, “all things are good.”  We serve a God who takes everything in life and uses it for the good of those who know and have accepted His son, Jesus Christ and who love Him.  This is the promise of the passage.   

 

Wherever you are today, know that God loves you.  Whatever your circumstances, if you know Jesus Christ as your personal savior, know that God will use all of these things to mold you and shape you until you are more and more like Christ.  Life is wonderful and no matter our circumstances if we belong to God, He can and will make them work for our good, even if we are living on the fringe!