“When Jesus saw their faith, he said, ‘Friend, your sins are forgiven.'” Luke 5:20
I’m fairly certain it is written somewhere in the Rule of Life that squirmy first graders must have a rest time after lunch. And for first-grade teachers, it’s less a rule and more a survival technique.
How do I know? Well… I was one of those squirmy first graders. And I was also a patient first-grade teacher. Go figure.
The word on the street is that I’ve always been a little feisty. And my sassiness made a proud first-class appearance during first-grade intermission, specifically rest time. I didn’t have one of those fancy nap mats that kids have now, complete with a pillow, blanket, and softness designed by geniuses. No. I had a towel.
A towel! But what would you expect from a teacher’s kid?
I rested peacefully every day after lunch, attempting to be a compliant first grader, until the day a larger-than-life fan decided to visit me and stir up my special time by blowing my dress over my head. Naturally, being a little lady, I sat up to tuck my skirt nice and snug around me. My teacher didn’t buy it. She assumed I was chatting with my friend across the room. I couldn’t imagine how she could possibly think I would do something like that. After all, I was busy having a towel-based religious experience, trying to keep my skirt down.
So I quickly laid back down and gathered my towel around me to keep the world away. And that’s when Jesus joined me on my mat.
I started thinking about our Sunday school story about the paralyzed man and his friends who brought him to Jesus. I began sneaking glances, hoping I’d find someone who might carry me out of the room. They’d probably be forgiven, maybe even by my grumpy teacher. I half-remembered Luke 5:20: “When Jesus saw their faith, he said, “Friend, your sins are forgiven.'”
Then a question hit me, one that still makes me pause: Is it strange that the paralyzed man didn’t ask his friends to carry him away? What if he was content on his mat? What if he was happy just the way he was?
That day my towel cocoon, became my protector.
I might have let my friends rescue me from my little mess, but I think God used the moment to teach me something deeper. He met me in a small predicament. He taught me how to call on Him in the silence and confusion.
Now I look back and wonder if my choices have changed much over the years. And sometimes I realize God still meets us right where we are, on a towel, in the middle of the chaos. If you’re in a season where you’re not sure whether you should stay put or reach out, maybe the question isn’t, “What’s the correct move?” Maybe it’s, “Where can I meet Jesus?”
Ponder with me
1. Can you just be with Jesus?
2. Where did you first meet Jesus? Or have you?
3. Can you find Jesus in the chaos, or do you hide from Him?
Would you pray with me?
Dear Jesus, please help me not to hide from You. Show me how to stretch out my fingers like I did when I was six years old and feel Your touch when chaos enters my world. You are always here,
sitting on my mat,
wrapped in my towel.