The Wallet

3-2-16

Mark 9.23 And Jesus said to him, “‘If you can’! All things are possible for one who believes.” – St. Mark

Recently, I lost my wallet. Age and stage these days… So, I got home from Church on Sunday and because it was rainy and cold, I flopped on the couch and visited with my bride and decided to remain there for some time until I decided I needed to go upstairs and take a nap. At some point (having taken advice from George Costanza) in the process I think I took my bulging (full of useless stuff) wallet out of my back pocket and set it on the couch…my memory goes blank after that.

So we, later, go to the store and, as usual, c’mon ladies, you know what I’m talking about, I ask my wife if she’s seen my wallet. She looks at me with that, are you serious? look on her face and says, No, let’s go; I’ll drive. So I get back home and commence to looking in earnest for said wallet – to no avail. Did I leave it at the church? Did I leave it upstairs? Did it fall out of my wallet onto the parking lot at the church? I keep looking and looking into the 4 pockets of my jeans, and the other pair of jeans, and the jacket I wore that day – in the laundry basket, endless trips into the office at the house – and on and on and on. It’ll show up I just know it, but dang it's elusive!

Well, that’s Sunday so I resume search and rescue on Monday, to no avail – all of the same spots as before and miracle of miracles, the wallet remains missing. That’s Monday. So off to Tuesday and I have a business trip to make so I look some more and don’t find the wallet some more and I borrow Cathy’s debit card and take twenty bucks for whatever and I go off to my all day business trip sans wallet.

Now, one of the nicest things anyone ever bought me was a subscription to Sirius/XM radio in the car. There may not be internet access or cell phone service in Monument, Oregon, but there is Sirius/XM, and yours truly is a fan. I listen to Joel Osteen a lot. I like what he has to say and I find his modern-day version of Norman Vincent Peale sort of refreshing. Joel tells me not to ask God endlessly for stuff, but instead, to thank God routinely for the blessings I have. Good advice.

So, on the way home, ol’ Joel is preaching away and he tells me that God is going to bless me double because of the lost wallet. (Okay, he didn’t mention the wallet specifically, but he did mention the difficulties we have and how God loves to bless us in the midst of our messes…) And Joel tells me to expect God’s blessings; to thank God for His blessings (before they arrive) and to recognize the blessing as they show up – in whatever way they show up. So, I focused on that for w while.

Again, we go to the store on Tuesday night and yours truly still has no wallet. When we get home, I tell Cathy, let’s pull those couch cushions out and see what’s under them. (We both had slid our hands behind and around those cushions numerous time.) An voila-peanut butter sandwich, there’s the wallet. I got the double blessing: it was found and I don’t have to cancel everything and start over. I had peace and I had joy and God directed me to my wallet.

I never once prayed: Jesus, if You can, could You help me find that wallet; You know I’m all stressed out about it and You know I think we’re gonna get identity theft and all that; but if You could, would You help us find that? I never prayed that. I did thank God endlessly for what He was doing and going to do, but I never asked Him if He could. But HE did, and my wallet (for the moment) is safely and my pants pocket and I am grateful that even in the little things in life, Jesus not only can – He also does. I will tell you that for the three days – I believed that stinking wallet would show up.