Finding the Keys

Photo Credit: mzacha from morgueFile.com

Our family gathered together in Port O’Connor last week to celebrate with my cousin’s daughter for her 7th birthday.  When we arrived at the party, I noticed that my dad was a bit (okay…a lot) preoccupied with something.  I asked my mom if there was anything wrong and she said that Dad had lost his keys.  Now, for some, this is absolutely not a big deal.  Losing keys can be a weekly, daily, or hourly thing for many folks.  Countless people out there might even lose their head if it wasn’t attached to their body.  However, my dad just doesn’t lose things…especially not his keys.

So, it became a family hunt.  We all wanted to help my dad find his keys and assure him that he wasn’t losing his mind.  He was extremely bothered by the missing keys, to put it mildly.  Oh, how we searched and searched and searched some more.

After the party, we went back to my parents’ house to continue the quest for the missing keys.  Furniture was turned over.  Dust bunnies were evacuated.  Bugs were relocated.  Not a nook, cranny, or crevice was left unscathed.  Countless prayers for St. Anthony’s intercession were lifted up.

We even climbed a ladder to examine the pear tree branches in the event that he just might have hung them there when picking pears earlier that day.  Nope.  Did we look in the fridge?  Yes.  Freezer?  Yep.  Toilet?  Unfortunately…yes.  We explored every square inch of the yard like a starving bird looking for a tiny morsel of food.

No keys.  We felt defeated, exhausted, and royally bummed.  With our heads hung low, we all returned home, thinking about the new places we could investigate the next day.

Later that evening, we received a text.  My cousin’s daughter was opening her gifts and exclaimed, “Woo-hoo!  Somebody got me a car for my birthday!  Look at these keys!”

Mystery solved. 

Somehow, my dad’s keys had fallen into the gift bag for the birthday girl.  We could have looked for the next fifty years and would have never found the keys.  In order to find the keys, the gift had to be opened.

Yes, that’s right.  I found a deeper meaning in all of this key-searching-fun.  In order to find the keys to a life of peace, joy, contentment, happiness, and love…we have to open the gifts God has given us.

One of the many gifts He has given us is His Word.  I know I don’t open the Bible near enough, but have you ever read Psalm 139?   On days when you feel unloved, unnoticed, or uncared for, I recommend this Psalm.  Here are a few of the verses that I think you will enjoy as much as I did:

“O Lord, you have examined my heart and know everything about me.  You know when I sit or stand.  When far away, you know my every thought.  You chart the path ahead of me, and tell me where to stop and rest.  Every moment, you know where I am.  You know what I am going to say before I even say it.  You both precede and follow me, and place your hand of blessing on my head.”

“This is too glorious, too wonderful to believe!  I can never be lost to your Spirit!  I can never get away from my God!  If I try to hide in the darkness, the night becomes light around me.  For even darkness cannot hide from God.”

“You made all the delicate, inner parts of my body, and knit them together in my mother’s womb.  Thank you for making me so wonderfully complex!  It is amazing to think about.  Your workmanship is marvelous.  You were there while I was being formed in utter seclusion!  You saw me before I was born and scheduled each day of my life before I began to breathe.  Every day was recorded in your Book!”

“How precious it is, Lord, to realize that you are thinking about me constantly!  I can’t even count how many times a day your thoughts turn towards me.  And when I waken in the morning, you are still thinking of me!”

Wow.  That’s good stuff.  Right?

You know I am a huge fan of laughter too, so why don’t we open up that gift with a few funnies today.  This one is from my Uncle Erol:

Two nuns were shopping at a convenient store.  As they passed by the beer cooler, one nun said to the other, “Wouldn’t a nice, cold beer or two taste wonderful on a hot summer evening?”

The second nun answered, “Indeed it would, sister, but I wouldn’t feel comfortable buying beer since I’m certain it would cause a scene at the check-out stand.”

“I can handle that without a problem,” the other nun replied, and she picked up a six-pack and headed for the check-out.  The cashier had a surprised look on his face when the two nuns arrived with the beer.

“We use beer for washing our hair,” the nun said.  “At our convent, we call it Catholic shampoo.”  Without blinking an eye, the cashier reached under the counter, pulled out a package of jumbo pretzel sticks, and placed them in the bag with the beer.  He then looked the nun straight in the eye, smiled, and with a wink said, “The curlers are on the house.”

Love it!  And, in honor of the birthday girl who found my dad’s keys, let’s remember that birthday cake is the only food you can blow on and spit on and everybody rushes to get a piece! Ha ha!  (from Mikey’s Funnies)

So, let us remember to open the countless gifts that God has given us…His Word, and the gifts of love, generosity, laughter, smiling, sharing, and listening.  If we do this, we’ll be sure to find the keys to a life of peace, joy, contentment, happiness, and abounding love.

Have a wonderful week, Sunshines!