During
most of his adult life, Emmett Kirkland worked
for Watkins Realty in Pittsburgh. Emmett, my
wife's grandfather, was a master craftsman, who
repaired and remodeled rental properties for the
firm.
As the Great Depression set in,
the company's rental income dried up, and Mr.
Watkins informed Emmett that he would have to lay
him off. Like countless others, Emmett had fallen
victim to the economic fallout of the times. Like
few others, though, he countered his setback with
an unusual response. He told Mr. Watkins that if
the company was unable to pay him, he would
continue to work for them--for free. He
reasoned that it was better to stay active and
productive, than to sit idly at home dwelling on
his problems.
Emmett's decision to continue
working proved to be fortunate in many ways. His
can-do attitude inspired his wife and five
children to be resourceful, and to find creative
ways to meet the family's needs. His dedicated
service to Watkins Realty helped it continue to
meet its clients' needs and to weather its
financial crisis. On occasion, when profits were
more than expected, Mr. Watkins shared some of
the windfall with Emmett. And, of course, when
the company's hard times finally eased, Emmett
was the first person to be rehired.
Although I never had the
privilege of meeting Emmett Kirkland, he is on
the short list of my most important personal
heros, for I've seen the effects of his positive
attitude upon his son Glenn--my wife's
father--and, through Glenn, upon Evie. What is
most impressive about his response to the layoff,
is that he took action when the natural response
would have been inaction. This act of faith
brought great benefits to him, his family and
many others.
The Curse of Inertia
During our own lifetime, we each
experience a multitude of setbacks and
disappointments. Too often our natural response
to a major blow is immobility. We're stunned by
the disappointment, unable to think clearly about
what to do next. We're angry at God, at others
and ourselves for what has happened, and our
anger keeps us from wanting to do anything
constructive. Worst of all, we suffer a collapse
of hope: God has turned his back on us, we
assume, so it's pointless to think he might want
to provide for us in some new way that would
compensate for our loss. What's the point of
trying to dig ourselves out of this pit?
In fact, God gives extraordinary
grace for healing in these cases. Yet usually we
experience his provision only as we keep our life
in motion. Some traumatic setbacks do require
that we pull back from life, and take some time
to grieve our loss. Yet it's easy to get stuck in
the inertia of this stage, and to miss the new
beginnings God has for us.
We find it easy enough to get
moving when there is some radical new
beginning we can make-a major change that,
because it is so grandiose, fuels our energy and
hope. Sometimes, though, the most extraordinary
thing we can do is to continue going through the
normal motions of life, which may be exactly what
will best allow God to help us get our life back
on track again. It's typical, too, when we're
depressed, to imagine that only a major change or
radical improvement will solve our problems. We
look with contempt upon the small and routine
steps we can take to improve things. Yet often
these are precisely what will break the spell of
our depression and open us to God's fresh
provision for our needs.
One Small Step Made All the
Difference
About four years ago a friend of
mine, Eric, lost his wife to cancer. Her death
was a devastating blow to Eric, who had been
happily married to Linda for 30 years.
A year or so later Eric began
dating Janet. He soon grew attracted to her and
hoped they could marry. While Janet liked Eric
greatly as a friend, she was uncertain about
wanting to marry him. After two years of dating,
Eric hadn't wavered in his desire to marry Janet,
and Janet hadn't moved beyond her ambivalence.
Eric, now in his mid-fifties and eager to be
married again, felt that he had to get on with
his life, and so broke up with Janet. Once again
he was heartsick over a major personal loss.
A short time after their breakup,
Eric was scheduled to attend a concert with a
friend. He visited a record store to purchase an
album by the group that was to perform, so that
he'd be better prepared to enjoy the concert.
While there, he ran into a young co-worker of
his. She introduced Eric to her mom, Shirley, who
was shopping with her. Eric chatted with Shirley
for a few minutes--long enough to find that she
had lost her husband to a heart attack several
years before.
A week later Eric asked Shirley
out. They quickly recognized that they were
highly compatible, and began seeing each other
frequently. Now, six months later, they have
fallen in love and are seriously considering
marriage.
This is a remarkably encouraging
example of how God can unexpectedly bring an
important answer to a need as we go about the
normal activities of life. Eric, who had every
reason to think that God had abandoned him,
benefited greatly from deciding to stay active
and hopeful about life. His decision to make the
concert experience as positive as possible led to
his visiting the record store, which opened the
opportunity to meet Shirley. His experience
reminds us that sometimes doing something, no
matter how mundane, is far better than doing
nothing.
A New Beginning for Moses
We find an inspiring example of
this principle in the early life of Moses,
described in Exodus 2:11-25. When Moses was about
forty years old, he faced the biggest trouble of
his life. He had killed an Egyptian, whom he
caught beating an Israelite. Moses thought he was
acting heroically by saving his fellow Jew from
the Egyptian's torture. But he soon found that
Pharaoh wanted to kill him for his vigilantism;
the Jews were also angry with him, for he had
stirred up trouble for them with the Egyptians.
Moses then fled from Egypt to the
neighboring land of Midian. There, "he sat
down by a well." It is hard to imagine
anyone feeling more isolated and helpless than
Moses must have felt at this moment. He had left
the privileged environment of Pharaoh's palace,
his friends, everything familiar to him, and now
was alone in a strange land. He must have felt
that he had no options for rebuilding his life.
But soon an opportunity arose to
do something constructive. The daughters of the
priest of Midian "came and drew water, and
filled the troughs to water their father's
flock." Shepherds came and chased the women
and their sheep away. Moses then assisted these
frightened women, brought them back to the well,
protected them from the shepherds, and helped
them water their flock.
From what we know of Moses'
assertive personality and physical strength, this
act of chivalry must have seemed second nature to
him--simply the obvious thing to do. Yet the
women reported the deed to their father, Jethro,
who was most impressed. Jethro then befriended
Moses, and offered him a place to stay. He went
on to provide Moses a job tending his sheep, and
gave him his daughter Zipporah to be his wife.
For Moses, one act of kindness
opened the door for him to find a comfortable
place to live for the next forty years, a new
family, enjoyable employment, and a partner for
marriage. As he merely rose to the occasion and
did what was natural to him, God provided
extravagantly for his needs.
Finding God's Best by Doing
the Obvious
What emerges from Moses'
experience is one of the most helpful principles
of God's guidance that we discover in Scripture.
Briefly stated, it's that we find much of God's
will for our life just by doing the obvious.
To elaborate more: Because God's
Providence is operating fully in the lives of
those who follow Christ, we can assume that much
of the guidance he provides us is conveyed
through the obvious responsibilities and
opportunities of everday life, including many
routine activities. Martin Luther spoke of God
preaching us a "daily sermon" through
these circumstances. He meant that God gives us guidance
through them, as clear and important as if he
were speaking to us in an audible voice.
We may assume also--and this is
the best news--that on occasion, by our merely
doing the ordinary, we will suddenly be in a
position to enjoy an unusual blessing of God--and
the type of blessing we would normally think
could only result from our taking a major,
carefully-planned step of faith. Moses'
experience in Midian is one we should remember
often, especially when we've suffered a defeat
and can't see any way to make a fresh start.
The Benefits of Keeping Our
Life in Motion
Appreciating the way God guides
us through the circumstances of daily life can do
wonders to revive our hope, not only when we
experience a setback, but when the pattern of our
day-to-day life gets too repetitive and boring.
We can be sure that there is purpose in our
plodding ahead and doing those things we would
normally do, for as we are faithful to these
responsibilities, God is full of surprises.
There are other reasons why we
benefit from keeping our life in motion. For one,
we are better able to think creatively, and to
find answers to problems, when we are actively
moving toward a goal, than when we are merely
thinking about doing so. As we overcome inertia
and move forward, our subconscious rallies, and
helps us find solutions to problems which
otherwise elude us. This is a vital principle for
the artist, composer and writer to understand;
just getting started on a creative project is
often half the battle in finishing it
effectively. Consider this advice which Vincent
van Gogh gave to aspiring artists:
"One must not work in a
thousand fears, and yet that is what many do who
are so anxious to get hold of the right colors
and tones that through this very anxiety they
become like tepid water. The real artists say,
'Just dash the color on!' Otherwise, we reach the
summit of wisdom when nobody has any daring
left."
Van Gogh's advice, of course,
applies not only to the artist but to any of us,
in any endeavor we undertake. We may get too
analytical about what we need to do, and wait too
long to get started. Sometimes we do better just
to "dash the color on"--that is, to do
something to put our feet in motion. As we begin
moving toward our goal, we are better able to
recognize how to reach it.
Another helpful reason to be in
motion is that others are more likely to assist
us. When they see that we're actively pursuing a
goal, they are better able to recognize specific
ways they can help us, and more inclined to want
to do so as well.
We also present a better role
model to others when we're being active and
productive, than when we're merely sitting still.
When Emmett Kirkland decided to work unsalaried
for Watkins Realty, he made a lasting impression
on his children about the value of work, the
importance of faithfulness, and the benefit of
staying hopeful. And his action did more to show
them what trusting Christ involves than any words
could ever have conveyed. His legacy inspired
them to be optimistic, to work hard, to tackle
problems rather than run away from them, and to
vigorously trust the Lord to meet their needs.
We each have far greater
influence on the lives of others than we usually
realize. And we do leave a legacy. When we
approach life positively, we inspire others to do
the same.
Beyond Futility
We so easily fall into a sense of
futility about our life. It takes so little for
that to happen. We conclude that it isn't worth
our effort to try to improve our situation, or to
take steps toward realizing our dreams. The
prospects of success just seem too remote.
As we come to realize how fully
God is at work in the circumstances of our daily
life, we can gain the heart to keep pressing on.
It is wonderful when, from time to time,
we have the opportunity to take a major step of
faith with our life. Yet in between times, we can
enjoy the same exhilaration of faith in taking
the small steps that we would in taking the big
ones, for we can know that we are participating
in God's bigger picture for our life through
these everyday activities.
And sometimes, through taking
even the smallest step, we open ourselves to an
unexpected blessing from God. This is a basis for
beginning each day with the highest expectations,
and for doing what we do with energy and hope.
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