Praying for Boredom

 

"Dad, I'm bored," our 11 year old son said, as we got out of our vehicle.

This seems to be a motto that Elliot lives by and truly, it is discouraging for those who face the Everest-like challenge of keeping him entertained.  

"Thou canst not be bored yet," I replied, somewhat severely.  "Speak of this to me in five minute when thy 'Bored Meter' is at 11 and I will discuss it further with thee.  In the meantime, perhaps thou shalt see a Gladiator kill a Mastodon."

"I'm still bored," he replied.

"My dearest Elliot," I spake unto him.  "I have read within a book something that thou mightest learn from.  For, it is said among the sages that when a Man expresses that he is bored, he is expressing dissatisfaction with himself.  Therefore, the solution to thy boredom is self-improvement, not to foist upon other thy difficulty with self-satisfaction."

This long oration may have made Elliot's father feel better about the situation, but it did little assuage Elliot's dissatisfaction with his circumstances.

There have been times when I have experienced boredom, just like my son.  At times this was related to waiting on others.  Other times it had more to do with my lack of interest in activities that were ongoing.

I have discovered something important.  It is in these moments of silence that God speakest best.  It is in the minutes and hours when I am waiting and even my cell phone does not work, that I can best focus on Him.  Perhaps, He is speaking all the time, but it takes boredom to let me hear Him.

God speaks to us in a still, small voice.

Mayhap we fill our lives with "important things" that are only static on the Phone Line of Heaven.  It is when we are bored that this static is eliminated.

It becomes us to be thankful, even for those moments of shear, unadulterated boredom.  It is in these times that we can actually hear the divine voice above the chaos of every day living.

Random Cookies

 

"I made cookies today," my beautiful wife told me as I arrived home.

This, is not so unusual as it is in the homes of people much more rich and famous.  For, when bank accounts soar, cookies vanish in favor of more expensive delectable, treats -- or at least, that is what I have heard.

"She made Random Cookies!"  Vincent put in sharply.

"Call them Miscellaneous Cookies," Elaine said.  "I had lots of toppings left from our ice cream sundae thing we did and so I put them in the cookies.  There was some heath bar topping and white chocolate chips and some regular chocolate chips that went into the cookie dough."

"It sounds yummy," I said.

"Oh, they are.  Vincent won't try them, though.  He says he is certain they aren't as good as Chocolate Chip Cookies."

"They aren't," Vincent said firmly.

I decided to sample one of the delicious treats that my wife had baked.  It was true that they weren't the same as Chocolate Chip Cookies, but they were still Plain Good!  I decided to eat a second one to be certain that they were really All That.  Yes, they were so good that I probably needed to try a third one, but I decided against it.  Best not to spoil my supper...

My children are odd when it comes to new foods.  There are many times that they will not try something new, even though it is something that they would probably enjoy greatly.

It isn't as though Elaine is serving our children food with bits of glass and rock embedded in it.  Nor is she barbecuing road kill.  Even though their experiences of receiving food in our house has been good, our children are still trepidatious when it comes to anything new.

It seems to me that many times I have trouble receiving the blessings my Heavenly Father sends my way.  Quite simply I do not perceive them as blessings.

While they are good an perfect gifts, I see them as not quite good enough.  Perhaps this has to do with my preconceived notions on what a blessing looks like -- just a little like my children view Miscellaneous Cookies.

Parable of the Potatoes

 

One day, it came to pass, that I gathered my children together.  “The time has come,” I said.  “To go out into the garden and dig roots that we might have A-Plenty in the coming winter.”

 

“But Father,” my youngest son said.  “’Tis well and truly hot outside.  Were it not better to wait for cooler weather?”

 “Certainly not.  The potatoes are ready and so are we,” I said, in a somewhat gruff voice.  I am a Type A Person, even when it comes to my garden and Time, Tide, and Potatoes wait for No Man.

 On arriving in the Garden, we found that over the course of the summer, the weeds had been Well Watered.  Verily, it was more like to a jungle than to a typical garden plot.  Fortunately, we did not see either Jaguars or Poison Dart Frogs during our brief sojourn.

 But Elliot was right.  Despite the time being six hours after noon, it was still very hot and muggy.  Whilst the potatoes were there, the digging of them was Not-Much-Fun.

 “Do we have to finish this row?”  Vincent asked, in a dismal voice.

 “Sure – and do the next one too,” I said, although I was feeling tired and was drenched with perspiration.  “You’ll be glad of these potatoes come winter.”

 “There are plenty of potatoes at Food Lion and Walmart,” my son grumbled, under his breath.  This was an accurate, if unhelpful statement. 

"If I were the one in charge of the Garden," Elliot said.  "I would plant Self-Digging potatoes!"

 Finally, we finished digging the potatoes.  The time that had transpired was less than it seemed, as the heat and the effort made it seem longer.  Whereas we had planted about ten pounds of seed potatoes, we dug something over one hundred pounds of eating potatoes.

 A garden teaches children (and adults) Many Things.  Perhaps one of the most important lessons that I hope my children learn from our garden is Perseverance

 Many in this world lack perseverance.  Whereas they are happy to work when it is cool outside and they are having a Good Old Time, when the weather turns hotter and it is not so much fun, they abandon their task to try to find something easier.

 There are many things in this life that require endurance, for life is not a One Hundred Meter Dash, it is a Marathon.  As the author of Hebrews said, “For you have need of endurance, so that when you have done the will of God, you may receive what was promised.” (Heb 10:36)

 Truly, it is necessary to press on in the tasks that are set before us, enduring to the end.  For God has promised wonderful things for His children who persevere – even better, if it were possible, then one hundred and twenty pounds of freshly dug potatoes

Of Dinosaurs and Croccolodials

 

"Look children," I said in my most fatherly of voices.  "It appeareth that we are about to cross the Tennessee River!"

Verily, a guide on a Nile River Cruise has Nothing On Me.  'Tis surprising that I am still plying my trade as a Man of Medicine, rather than Guiding Tours of the Seven Wonders of the World or at least a Cruise Ship Captain.  ("Are We Having Fun Yet?!")

"Hark, I see a boat!"  My daughter, Victoria said, with a ringing shout.

"I see a Croccolodial!"  Quoth my youngest daughter, Elise.

"Hark, I see many boats!"  Spake Elliot in an even louder voice.

"I see..."  One could discern that Elise was pondering what more to share.  "I see a dinosaur in the river!"  Rang out to all in the mini van to hear and then, loudest of all.  "I see a dinosaur in a boat in the river!"

Of course, no one could one-up her on that.  Whilst I was still driving, I took a quick peek at the river.  Clearly the dinosaur had been piloting a very fast boat, for he was long out of sight by the time I looked.

When one has four siblings, each of whom has been gifted by their Creator with a loud voice, she learns to speak with an even Louder Voice.  When your brothers and sisters tell tall tales, your stories must be even taller.

I have discovered that while each human has a voice, not all of us are heard.  Mayhap it is because our voice is not loud enough, or our stories not interesting enough.  Perhaps it is simply because we have the wrong last name and family connections, but many times we feel lost and unheard.

It is a blessing that when we are speaking with our Heavenly Father, we have no difficulty attracting His attention.  He hears, even when our voice doth not rise above a whisper.

Jeremiah 29:12 is a verse in which God told His people, "Then shall ye call upon me and ye shall go out and pray unto me, and I will hearken unto you."

God hears us and answers when we call unto Him, even when we do not have stories of croccolodials and dinosaurs in boats in the Tennessee River to surprise Him.