It was a small metal clasp.
No bigger than an inch in size.
It was a clasp that wasn’t much of a clasp, think small aluminum
rectangle. What it was used for was to
hold together tightly a pair of tongs.
To “open” the tongs, you’d slide the clasp down to the end, to close the
tongs so they’re not in “sprung” position, you move the clasp up. Now, to keep the clasp in place, it was small
enough and tight enough to not go beyond the larger end of the tongs.
Note the little claspy thing around the base of the tongs.
That thing.
Well...that was the idea.
Over the years, and through usage, maybe the clasp gets to be a little
too big. Or maybe the end gets a little
too small? Whatever the case may be, the
clasp fell off at camp and into the dirt and now the tongs were in perpetual “sprung”
position. Difficult for us to store in
our utensil holder and now, pretty much, worthless. Oh, sure, they could still be used and we
could wrap them in a rubber band but that took time, energy and a rubber
band. Losing that little clasp into the
dirt was frustrating, to say the least.
And lead to conversations: “Have
you seen the clasp? Did it fall off on
the table? What did you do with the
tongs? Where’d that clasp go? Etc.”
My mother, over hearing this conversation, did what she
normally does in this situation: She
prayed for it. She prayed for God to,
somehow, make that clasp appear so our beloved aluminum tongs that have been in
the family for years would work properly again.
I struggle, as I’ve talked before, about the anthropomorphic
image of God and the God that I believe in isn’t one who is going to stop what
he’s doing and suddenly make a small aluminum clasp appear. Or, another one of mom’s favorites prayers, a
parking spot. I’ve remembered many times
over the years when we’d drive downtown how my mom would pray for a parking
place to appear. If you somehow believe
that God is all powerful and all knowing and surrounding us and binding us and
cradling us in his grasp and making our pathways straight and knows our past,
present and future - are you sure he’s that concerned with making sure that we
find a decent parking spot? Or a metal
clasp? Aren’t Syrian refugees or
terrorists acts or dying children a little more important than making sure we
find a two hour parking spot as opposed to a “load and unload only during the
hours of 9 a.m. to 5 p.m.” parking spot?
Obviously, to my mother, and her relationship with God those are not
mutually exclusive. God can both watch
over the poor and hungry and downtrodden and suffering while also sparing a few
moments to encourage someone to leave the store a couple minutes early so we’d
find a prime parking spot when we’d turn the corner.
What kind of relationship is that? And as much as this is standard operating
procedure for my mother, it doesn’t fit into my mind set. But is praying to watch over my family
members, or praying to lessen the suffering of one who is sick, or praying for
outright healing any more crazy than
praying for an aluminum clasp so our tongs can close?
Do you believe in a God that can heal but not be a parking
lot assistant? Do you believe in a God
that is all knowing and all powerful and actively involved in all aspects of
the world, but small enough to care that you don’t waste too much gas looking
for a parking spot? Can those be
mutually exclusive? Can they be
one-in-the-same?
Does it come back down to your image of God?
By the way, we never found the aluminum clasp. Maybe God had something better to do?
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