A catfish in a goldfish bowl

I read a devotion by Ron Hutchcraft this evening that summed up my world perfectly. Because, today ... my world changed again.

He told the story of his daughter's fantail goldfish. The day came that the bowl was dirty and they needed to put the fish into a small bowl while they cleaned the fishbowl. The fish swam as if it were used to the larger bowl and continued to run into the sides. The poor thing had no idea that as it was dealing with the small space, something better was being prepared for it.

Ok ... you have that story - now, here's mine.

We discovered today that Max's job at CompUSA was ending in 60 days. They are closing the store. I fell apart, completely and absolutely when I discovered this information. Now, remember, that today Max is in the hospital recuperating from major ankle replacement surgery. A friend of ours called me at church to tell me that he had heard this and as I processed on the verisimilitude (look it up) of the information, I discovered that it was true. I called Max and in his drugged stupor, I made him call the store for more information. And I promptly fell apart. Dr. Delp (lead pastor) walked past my door within moments of the discovery and asked if I needed anything. I just said, 'yes' and started crying. Now, THIS is why I love working at the church. He walked in, put his hands on my shoulders and began praying for me. Where else could you have your boss do that for you?

I left work to come to the hospital - but, first to run home and deal with a puppy who was going to explode. As I was at home, Max called. Yes, the rumors were all true and he would be out of a job in 60 days.

Why was I panicking? Because he is to not put any weight on this ankle for 8 weeks! Ok, we can start looking for jobs - but, interviews are going to be tough using a walker and crutches. I was in full-blown meltdown. You see, I have been working for just one month. Insty-Prints closed last September and I had been out of work. I was just feeling good about the fact that we were finally going to see some light at the end of the financial tunnel. And now ... wham, we are being hit again.

The next thing that Max told me, though was that for every year he had worked for CompUSA, he received a week of severance pay. That's 8 weeks! Two more months! As soon as Max can be on his feet again walking, he'll be able to walk into a job interview.

Within an hour after Doug had prayed for me, God was already beginning to show me His incredible grace and mercy. And the other amazing thing is that Max is so drugged up that as his mind is accepting the reality of this, his heart isn't falling apart. He's being allowed to handle it quietly and with a bit of a padding around it. (That certainly explains why alcoholics and drug addicts like their addictions!) But, today - I'm thankful for the drugs that have modified Max's attitude about this today. He's dealt with a lot in the last couple of days (those are hideous and funny stories for another time) and he didn't need to have this one hitting him full on.

I know that God is good ... all the time. And the story from Ron Hutchcraft reminds me that God may be pulling us in and out of small bowls as He prepares the bigger ones for us. Where is He taking us in all of this? I have no idea ... and I'm a little scared. But, I do trust Him and I certainly covet your prayers.