The other day the price of oil went up, again. This time it neared $100 a barrel. I did the math to see how that translates when filling up at the pump. My goodness, I'm already spending a little over $20 per day at the pump! I drive to work daily. The commute is a long ninety-four miles in one direction, the trek made all the more longer by an acute back pain. I work the night shift, from 1600 to 0000 hrs. That's 4pm to 12am for all of you unfamiliar with military time. About half the time when I drive home after work I become bored and sleepy. Sometimes I can fight it, make myself laugh or even call my wife to keep my brain going to keep from falling asleep. Other times it gets so bad that I need to pull over. When I suddenly start snoozing at the wheel for two minutes at a time, oblivious to everything happening around me as I drive, I know it's time to pull over.
So when I heard the price of oil go up again, along with the value of our once-almighty dollar fall yet again, I started thinking to myself (and praying out loud at the same time), "My LORD, why won't You do something for me?!" Then I start running into a litany of things regarding what can be done for me by Him to remedy my situation. A second job? maybe even a lottery windfall.
Ah, the California Lottery. The other day I spoke to Leslie Duran, a friend I had not called in a long time. In the middle of our conversation, I asked her if she thought playing the lottery would be a sin. She answered in the affirmative, stating that it would be wasting money that God commanded us to be good stewards of. But then she mentioned that her husband plays at times, saying that he's taking a chance to see if he can beat the odds. She also mentioned that she plays at times herself, though not as often as her husband, according to her. Then she said, "You have to ask yourself 'what are you playing for'--just to hoard the money, or what?" I said that I was not playing out of greed, but need -- we need the money. She then said, "Then you have to ask the LORD if it is sin for you." She said she would pray for us, and she would also bring it up in her women's group, a group that I knew included Grace Snyder, my best friend's mom. I thank the LORD for such people. They helped me plenty when I faced financial trouble the first time back in 1997. I'll tell of that story later.
In any case, I've decided to play the lottery, hoping and praying that the LORD would grant me a lottery windfall to fix my situation. Some time ago I asked a friend to pray for my situation as well. He said that while God is indeed capable of doing the impossible, there are times when He wants to get us the wisdom to fix things. But I wonder what one can do with few resources and a tanking economy. Still, I am hopeful that my Father will grant me something, perhaps at the last minute. Maybe He wants to strip me of hoping in everyone and everything except Him. Sometimes I feel like how my little daughter does when she asks me for a yummy treat. I tell her "not now, after lunch", and yet she keeps asking and asking, even going as far as jumping up the table in an effort to nab the coveted confection. Well, I'll keep looking up and lifting my head, hoping for the redemption that draws nigh.
So when I heard the price of oil go up again, along with the value of our once-almighty dollar fall yet again, I started thinking to myself (and praying out loud at the same time), "My LORD, why won't You do something for me?!" Then I start running into a litany of things regarding what can be done for me by Him to remedy my situation. A second job? maybe even a lottery windfall.
Ah, the California Lottery. The other day I spoke to Leslie Duran, a friend I had not called in a long time. In the middle of our conversation, I asked her if she thought playing the lottery would be a sin. She answered in the affirmative, stating that it would be wasting money that God commanded us to be good stewards of. But then she mentioned that her husband plays at times, saying that he's taking a chance to see if he can beat the odds. She also mentioned that she plays at times herself, though not as often as her husband, according to her. Then she said, "You have to ask yourself 'what are you playing for'--just to hoard the money, or what?" I said that I was not playing out of greed, but need -- we need the money. She then said, "Then you have to ask the LORD if it is sin for you." She said she would pray for us, and she would also bring it up in her women's group, a group that I knew included Grace Snyder, my best friend's mom. I thank the LORD for such people. They helped me plenty when I faced financial trouble the first time back in 1997. I'll tell of that story later.
In any case, I've decided to play the lottery, hoping and praying that the LORD would grant me a lottery windfall to fix my situation. Some time ago I asked a friend to pray for my situation as well. He said that while God is indeed capable of doing the impossible, there are times when He wants to get us the wisdom to fix things. But I wonder what one can do with few resources and a tanking economy. Still, I am hopeful that my Father will grant me something, perhaps at the last minute. Maybe He wants to strip me of hoping in everyone and everything except Him. Sometimes I feel like how my little daughter does when she asks me for a yummy treat. I tell her "not now, after lunch", and yet she keeps asking and asking, even going as far as jumping up the table in an effort to nab the coveted confection. Well, I'll keep looking up and lifting my head, hoping for the redemption that draws nigh.
No comments:
Post a Comment