His answer was "yes" (a.k.a. God is laughing at me)
To be honest, I didn’t think God would answer my question at all. It was rhetorical, a little joke at the end of a blog post I wrote back in April. I had pitched a Spiritual Terrible Twos Temper Tantrum over the color of my new dishwasher - I wanted a black stainless steel one, but that color was on back order and we couldn’t wait so I had to settle for my second choice.
At the end of the post, I asked God for a silly thing. Since I was going to need a new refrigerator soon, and that refrigerator couldn’t be black stainless steel or it wouldn’t match (oh, woe is me), could I at least have the one with the cool touch screen computer on the front door? I was being facetious…mostly. I really did want the coolness. I’m a technophile. I like bells and whistles, and the thought of having my entire Pinterest collection of recipes, a weather app, Google access, grocery list, digital white board, AND a music streaming service right on the fridge door sounded like a whole lot of fun. But I knew it was way out of our price range. So I threw the question out to God as a clever quip. A cute tag line. A throwaway phrase that I didn’t think much about ‘cause I thought I knew the answer.
And then, God said, “Yes.”
Wha….?!?
See, we got the money together a couple of weeks ago to replace the rest of the major kitchen appliances including the broken refrigerator. At the same moment, the big box store ran a really great sale on all the stuff we needed. I mean, a REALLY good sale - good enough that we got the fancy fridge for the same amount we were willing to spend on a non-techie-not-as-cool version.
That touch screen coolness sits in my kitchen right now.
And God is laughing at me. He pulled a good one on me this time. I think He’s enjoying catching me off guard with the surprise.
‘Cause I was starting to wonder if He’d rigged the system so I would always have to do things the hard way. I entertained the notion that if I want something and it’s not “spiritual” or totally altruistic in nature, then God’s not interested. I assumed He has bigger and better things to deal with than techie toys in my kitchen. I figured I don’t deserve it, certainly don’t need it, so God won’t bother.
I was wrong.
Don’t misunderstand me, God hasn’t given me everything I’ve asked for, and at times He’s made even the stuff I truly need hard to reach. You ever been there? Wondering if He’s destined us for steep paths “through the valley of the shadow of death” for the rest of our lives? When we’ve cried more tears than we thought we ever had, when we’ve gone to bed too many nights with our stomachs in knots, when everything just feels so darn hard? The last thing we expect in times like these is a goofy gift from God.
But that’s exactly what He might give us. To let us know that He’s here, He sees, He cares, and that even the silly stuff has His attention. He’s a good, good Father, after all, who loves to give good gifts to His children (Matthew 7:11). And as for things that aren’t “spiritual”? Well, God knows no distinction between the secular and the sacred. Every part of our lives, even our kitchen appliances, can be holy to Him.
The moment I ordered the fridge, God reminded me of that blog post and my tongue-in-cheek tag line request. I caught my breath. I felt my mouth gape in wonder, and then snapped it shut ‘cause I was sitting in public after all. I felt a little tear of gratitude in the corner of my eye. And I swear I heard Him chuckling.
Of all the things I’ve asked God for, this was the request I Ieast expected Him to affirm. There are plenty of answers I’m still waiting for, many far more important than my high-tech silliness. But because He answered THIS one, I have more hope that He’ll answer the rest, too, in His way and His time. Which is probably His point, after all.
Do you ever feel like all God gives you is the hard stuff? The less-than so you don’t get all spoiled and soft on Him? Do you hesitate to talk with Him about your true desires because they feel silly and not very spiritual? Do you assume He’s stingy because He’s too busy disciplining you to lavish you with seemingly silly gifts?
I do. And He’s proved me wrong.
Not that God’s going to give us every thing we ask for, especially while we’re selfish and self-centered creatures (which is pretty much me all the time). But He does love us - He says it over and over and over again in so many ways. One of those ways is sometimes showing up with an unexpected and inexplicable “yes.”