Friday, July 20,
2018
“When you
pray, don’t be like the hypocrites who love to pray publicly on street corners
and in the synagogues where everyone can see them. I tell you the truth, that is all the reward
they will ever get. But
when you pray, go away by yourself, shut the door behind you, and pray to your
Father in private. Then your Father, who
sees everything, will reward you. “When you pray, don’t babble on
and on as the Gentiles do. They think
their prayers are answered merely by repeating their words again and again. Don’t be like them, for
your Father knows exactly what you need even before you ask him!” Matthew 6:5-8(NLT)
For the last couple of years
every time I looked at the roof on our house, I tried to imagine what it’s like
to sleep in a homeless shelter. After
more than 18 years in the same place, those shingles must be feeling old. I imagine they’re just like everything else I’ve
ever thought I owned; they own me. And they choose to break, disappear, rust-out,
short-out, or just plain die-out roughly 32 seconds after the warranty
runs-out! We bought the house new in
2000, so I know the care we’ve taken to keep things up. But, shingles are exposed to everything.
Last month I thought my
dreams had come true; more accurately, my nightmares – the ones where the sheriff’s
deputy comes to haul me off to debtor’s prison because I can’t pay the bill for
the new roof.
After a particularly strong
rainstorm I noticed a stain on the bedroom ceiling. My heart got that sinking-into-the-abyss
feeling. It’s that feeling you get when
the repair estimate has more numbers than your complete phone number, area code
and all. So, I climbed into the attic
and searched for wet spots or any sign of water migration. Nada!
With faint heart I picked up
the phone to call the insurance claim office.
Now, if you’ve ever had to call your insurance company to check on
whether you’re covered for something, you know where I’m headed with this. But I never got there, because the voice on
the other end said: I’ll send someone right out!
Huh? Was this the Twilight Zone, or what? Insurance companies are not that friendly. Often the good hands are
just getting a good grip to slap you down a rung or two. But the guy actually showed up.
Then he climbed up on the
roof (which I was sure was just a ploy to find out what I did or didn’t do so
they could deny the claim). He took
pictures up there (evidence for the judge and the debtor’s prison people, no
doubt). Then he went to his truck, came
back with the pictures and a claim form.
I was ready to offer my wrists for the handcuffs, but he showed me the
pictures and said – that must’ve been some hail storm!
I must have mumbled
something profound, like: Uhm….
what hailstorm? He pointed to
his pictures that showed chalk line circles on a whole bunch of my shingles and
said: the storm that did that! Then the guy handed me a check for half the
roof replacement and said: give
me a call when the roofer is about done and I’ll get you the other half. He walked back to his truck, got in and
yelled out: Have a better day, today.
He was half-way down the
street when I finally processed what had just happened. I felt my neck artery to see if I still had a
pulse, because I know my heart had gone the way of everything else I own under
warranty…stone cold useless. It wasn’t
until I deposited the check and the bank people didn’t laugh at me, that I
finally started to believe the nightmare had become that sweet dream I’d
always heard about.
As I write this there is
pounding on my roof. The guys are almost
done, and even they haven’t littered my yard with the wrappers from McDonald’s,
or even smoked a single cigarette, or downed a fifth of Jack Daniels. To boot, one guy just walked past the study
window sweeping off the back patio.
I like this dream!
To the point – I’ve been
worrying about that roof. I’ve been
worrying more about the $11,000 it would take to replace it, and where I’d ever
get that kind of money. But it seems my
worrying was misplaced; it seems I’ve got a Father who has all kinds of access
to stuff…even where the hail lands.
And so, even before I
thought to ask, His answer was on the way.
For You Today
You chew on that as you hit the
Rocky Road; have a blessed day.
Go to VIDEO
[1] Title Image: Russell Brownworth’s camera
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