Ever imagined something one way but it works out a different way? A lot of us have been there. I once watched a TV program where a young guy climbed a tree and attempted, like Tarzan, to jump to another tree. Almost as soon as he made his leap, you heard, “Ow, ow, ouch, ouch, that hurt!”
Have you tried painting a few walls like the pros do, or the way people on TV paint? They paint without getting any paint on themselves. In fact, they don’t even wear gloves, overalls, goggles, or caps. Last week, I began painting our bathroom. I placed painters’ tape at the bottom of the wall covering the floor tile grout. I had my roller and brush ready. Had the gloves nearby, but who needs that just yet, right? I opted for my mom’s paint roller. It looked great! After just a few strokes, the roller handle snapped and as it headed towards the floor, I reached for it. My entire hand turned white as did sections of the tiles. I placed the roller on the edge of the paint bucket and it fell right in the paint! I reached in as soon as I could! I guess we can say it was a good thing the tape was there-it spared a few tile-inches from getting fully painted! Even when I stain wood, using gloves, I still get stain on my hands.
Still recall when, before we married, my wife, only a friend back then, invited my brother Nels, friend Papo, and me to paint her living room. Within a few minutes she was saying, “I didn’t know I called the Three Stooges! Papo was up on a ladder painting towards the ceiling, and got paint on the side wall-the off-limit wall. I was opposite him also on a ladder painting right to left when, if someone’s head had been there, like the Three Stooges, I would have slapped some paint on his face! My roller went right off the wall! My brother had the roller on a broom stick to paint faster…He did! The floors, the wall, himself! Homeowner, Vivian couldn’t believe her eyes! Of course, we were just testing her! We made sure to give her more than she bargained for! I mean, it was a free paint job; might as well throw in some extras, right?! Overall, we must’ve done a great job…in the end, she did marry me!
Isn’t life like that; you’re sure things will go like this, but they end up like that. Take King David, he wanted to build a house for God, but God said no. And Peter was ready to go to the grave for Jesus, but ran like a mouse for hidden cheese when the pressure got tough, and, even denied knowing Jesus.
We all have trials, and like the painters, God likes to throw in a few extras, free of charge. Maybe you’ve planned out your life. Maybe by 2028, you’ll be all set for the big world out there. Your significant other is super, and you’re tying the knot. Might end up with two: a knot in your throat, and a “NOT GONNA HAPPEN as you pictured.
It happens to everyone! You may never get to walk on water like Peter (Matthew 14:29), or lead a nation like Joseph (Genesis 41:40), but God is in control!
Even when our lives look like a messy-painted floor, not to mention pants, shirts, face, and glasses, God is standing by to clean us up. He’s the greatest painter! Doesn’t need painters’ tape or drop cloths to daily paint beautiful sunsets or spellbinding sunrises. He paints a bright future for us better than any artist or professional painter! And even when we’ve pictured life one way, after all the curve balls, God’s there to see us to His Home, His Way. And in the end, the Church will be marrying Him!
“For the choirmaster. A Psalm of David. The heavens declare the glory of God. The skies proclaim the work of his hands” (Psalm 19:1 Berean Standard Bible).
God Bless!
Sam
Recommended Song: Song of Love Rebecca St. James 2002