Above and Beyond
Ephesians 3:20
Now to Him who is able to do far more abundantly beyond all that we ask or think, according to the power that works within us.
Not only is God able to do more than we ask or think; He is willing, and I can prove it.
This is a small story about something that isn’t important. At some level, though, I think it is all the more powerful in that it shows how our Father cares about all the things in our lives, even the small ones.
My roommate and I have begun to unpack our Christmas decorations to get ready for the Christmas season. I have a painting which I had framed last year. When I tried to hang it this year, I discovered that the hanger didn’t fold down correctly. Bummer! It made the painting stand out from the wall such that the wire could fall off the hook.
Additionally, roommate bought a print this year to hang over the fireplace. It came with an odd sort of hanger, not the typical wire. The problem there is that this print will temporarily replace the picture that usually hangs over the mantle. So, as I looked at it, I thought that having two sets of hangers would be undesirable and the second set might even show when we put the regular painting back. So, I decided to take both prints to Michael’s where I had the one framed last year. I was hoping they would repair that one at no cost, but it’s been a year so it is reasonable that I might have to pay for it. No worries, I figured. The other one, the new print, well, of course I would have to pay to have the hanging system on it changed out.
The bigger concern was how long we might have to wait to get the prints back. Again, it is not a big deal since we are ahead of schedule but not being able to hang the one above the fireplace would make it a challenge to move forward with decorating the mantle. These are all little things, right? And yet, sometimes it is the accumulation of lots of little things which burden us.
So, my roomie and I packaged up the two prints again and off we went to Michael’s. Along the way we said a prayer about this hiccup in our decorating plans. Phrased differently, we asked, we asked our Father to be with us and to be in this situation with us. Now, He is able to do beyond what we ask or think, but step one is inviting Him into the situation, and that is what we did. We asked Him for Michael’s to repair the one from last year at no cost and, most importantly, for us to be able get both of the prints back in a reasonable time. We were thinking, worst case scenario, it would be nice to have them back by Saturday. It was Thursday.
We arrived at the Michael’s framing counter with our arms full of boxed prints. First, we unpackaged the painting from last year. Before we could say a word, the gentleman behind the counter said, “Oh my, someone had a moment!” He saw more than we could even comprehend about how things should be done. He was very positive, wouldn’t disparage the person who put the mounting hardware on last year but also clearly was not satisfied with how it was done. He immediately took the painting back to the work room to repair it. We just looked at one another with questioning looks upon our faces. “Is he fixing it right now?” I asked. Sure enough, he came back a few minutes later with it repaired. What!!! I didn’t expect that.
Then we unboxed the new print. The worker saw the hanger system and explained its use to us. He also thought it was uncommon to have that type of hanger on this type of print. He agreed that the simple wire would more than suffice and that way we could use the hanger that is already in the wall. Now, the big question, how long was it going to take to get this print back? Would you believe he picked up the print and, again, headed back to the workroom? I thought, “He is probably just going to put it back there and then come write up a ticket” except he didn’t immediately return. We looked at each other and today’s verse came to my mind. We started saying how great our God is and that Jesus is so cool.
We were both so thrilled, not so much about the prints, though. What was so exciting is that our Dad showed up on the scene for us. His hands were upon the situation and us all. He was paying attention to the details of life and His presence seemed to resonate loudly through the store. I think others must have felt His presence too.
Soon the clerk came back and placed the print on the counter. He helped me box it back up in its many layers of corrugation. Once packaged again, I turned to the clerk and asked, “What do I owe you?” He raised his hand, shook his head, and said, “Nothing.” Okay, so I already knew Dad was in the situation, but I was still surprised at this additional blessing. I thanked the gentleman and blessed him. He smiled, thanked us and we turned to go, still a little in shock at how amazingly well the situation worked out for us. I know God is able and willing to do exceedingly above and beyond all I can think or ask, but He really surprised me this this time. Not only did we get our prints back, repaired right then on the spot but we weren’t required to pay for any of it.
The morale of the story for me was two-fold. First, when you think you’ve thought big enough, think again. Second, pray about everything. Don’t get weird and holy about prayer. Just tell your Father what you are hoping for, what result you would like. Then, get out of the way and be astonished at what He will do. It is so fun watching Father move through our lives. Yep, it is great to be blessed.
