Perfection

I love those seemingly insignificant moments when whatever task I’m working at comes out perfectly. Like the random stack of napkins I picked up from the pile happened to be the exact number needed for the number of place settings I have. Or when all the socks match up after doing laundry. Or the candies my Daniel and I are sharing at the movies divide evenly between us.

Recently, on the last day I worked at the theatre in Florida before we moved to Virginia, I experienced such a situation – but with a twist that made me think!

It was stock day. Among the items delivered was a box of medium popcorn bags. For inventory purposes, whoever is working at the time removes the bags from the box and puts them into bundles of twenty-five. To do this, rubber bands are required. Usually, an entire bag of rubber bands is in one of the concession cabinets, but this time the bag had only a few bands in it – not nearly enough to complete the task. So, I went on the hunt for a supply of rubber bands. I collected spare ones from the box office, the manager’s office, the far recesses of the concession cabinets. Along the way, I didn’t count them. I just did my best to find as many as I could. Armed with a handful, I started the task before me. Fast forward – I got to the last bundle of popcorn bags and picked up the next to last rubber band! Elated that I’d found more than enough, I felt the thrill of completing the task successfully.

But then… the next to last rubber band snapped apart!

Therefore, I had collected exactly the right amount of rubber bands because the next to last one snapped and I needed that last one.

In the course of life, we are generally idealistic about what compromises a ‘perfect’ life. The slightest deviation from the vision often sets us to complaining or worrying or doubting, not to mention questioning God and His goodness.

Besides this being an incredibly self-centered perspective, the popcorn bag task gave me an illustration that provided a silver lining.

Sometimes, events in life are like that snapped rubber band – something unexpected, startling, painful, devastating. It’s as if it is the last rubber band, and without it leaves life incomplete, unsuccessful.

But there’s one more rubber band. God has provided it, and knew you’d need it long before you did. And that means, in the course of things, everything turns out perfectly.

Don’t let the snapped rubber bands discourage you. Everything is working out for the good… uh oh! There’s that verse again. Guess it’s a theme this week. *wink*

Happy Weekending, Dry Ground friends! Rejoice in the Lord! (Phil. 4:4)