Life hurts- death, divorce, depression, foreclosure, repossession, bullies… I could go on and on. Have you ever just felt like giving up? I won’t claim to have all the answers to your pain. I do know that Jesus can and will take this pain and heal the suffering you may be feeling, but you must reach out for his hand! He is calling you; can you hear Him in your heart?

My cordless phone battery keeps going dead. I have one of those manual labor phones. I don’t know if everyone has seen them. You know that one that you must stand up to answer the phone. That may be why the cordless phone keeps going dead; I am too lazy to put it on the base…

After digging out that old manual labor phone that I need a crash course on using and coming to the understanding that I can’t just leave it off the hook sitting next to my recliner or it will start barking something really loud until you put it back on it’s base… Wow I am being trained to put a phone back up! Maybe next I will take the trash out!

Any who.. I figured what I need is one of those phone splitter thingies that let you plug two phones into one jack that way I can have a sort of lazy phone redundancy.

I am a little on the tight end of the spectrum. You know, squeeze a dollar out of a dime! I know I have one of those phone splitters somewhere and where is the first place you look? Right; that junk drawer in the kitchen! Yep, the one that you have to slam a few times and break a few pencils and wedge something in on top that makes it so hard to open again.

I opened that drawer up finally and what I realized was that I got lured into checking out all that stuff, you know the junk. I scattered it all out on the counter top. I was amazed I still had all those dead AA batteries! You better believe those went in the freezer! Ok, maybe not he-he. Anyway, back on track. After rummaging through all this junk I realized something. I forgot what I was looking for. I got so involved in “What’s in my junk drawer” that I even forgot about the phone all together.

I want to share something with you that is not that easy for me to share. I am one of those that grew up without a lot of hugs from my Daddy. I was instilled to believe that showing emotion at all was a sign of weakness.

I have had a few of those “this is life” bombs dropped on me. You know, I thought I really had it together. I thought that I was putting all my hope and trust in God’s hands but in all honesty I was too proud of a manly man to realize that I have no control over my life or of the lives around me. It was not until I lost ALL control that I could truly give the Lord my trust and devotion. Finally after 35 years of being in the swine business I came back home to my father’s open arms. Read this to see what I mean: Luke 15: 11-32

I was hurting really badly after one of those life bombs hit me. I went to my heavenly father for comfort and of course I received it. But it took yet one more of those life bombs to make me truly understand how to receive his tender touch and loving arms around me.

After getting yet another call with the worst news could I get by telephone; I broke down. Finally after all these years I broke! Me the man who does not cry, me the man who breaks his foot and can’t remember how! Me the man who (thinks) is in control of his life and the lives of his family… I broke.

The first feeling I had was to find someone to comfort me. I was crying in the pharmacy while paying for my medicine and almost talked to the girl taking my money. I thought to myself; if only she will ask me if I am ok. I ran umm… I mean I hobbled out to the car and no sooner than I sat down I explode into a fit of tears. I could not breathe, I could not see. I thought I was going to die. I finally got enough composure to drive away from the person sitting next to me whom I thought; I kind of wish they would ask me am I ok.

I drove to my pastor’s house and he was not home. So I thought; he is a preacher, he must be at church. So I got it together again and drove to the church. No one was there, I thought if only someone would drive up and ask me if I am ok. So then I called his cell and guess what? He was not there. So, after hanging up and crying some more I called again and left him a message. I don’t think it was very understandable. I bet my pastor was really worried about me when he got out of his meeting and listened to or umm tried to decipher my message.

Upon leaving this message I hung up the phone and finally; I was a broken child who only needed a father’s arms around me. So I dialed the prayer phone to God. You know what? I got through with out any effort. He told me: “Come to me first my child” as I poured out my heart to Him and begged Him to take away this pain I heard again “A little while longer my child”. Then I don’t know how to put it to words but I felt Him hold me. I cried my heart out to Him and he ran down the street to meet me! Luke 15: 11-32

After pulling all that junk out of the junk drawer I realized something that is life changing that I had heard before from Dr. Stanley.

1. Tell God what your burden is.

2. Give your burden to him.

3. Move your focus from your burden to the burden bearer. Matthew 11:28-30

It is so easy to loose focus of the burden bearer and be consumed with the junk in the drawer. It is not until we put ALL our focus, ALL our love, ALL our illusion of control into his hands that we can truly know what our father can and will freely give to anyone who asks and believes in the Son and savior Jesus the Christ.

If I could do anything to prevent anyone from going through the pain I have went through in order for your eyes to be opened I would, but I know that some of you may be doing step 1. and 2. but maybe too preoccupied with what’s in your junk drawer to really focus on step 3. It is my prayer that if you are one of those like me that you would close that drawer and answer the phone. Our Father is waiting by it with an open ear and then with open arms.

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