when 12 items or less is just not enough

Perhaps your idea of a 'learning experience' is not typically found in the setting of a grocery store. But then again, perhaps the root of our struggle to reach our desired states of Christ-likeness is because we box learning in and do not seek wisdom EVERYWHERE we are.

Tonight I was at the grocery store looking for garbage bags. I was not in any particular rush, but I'm never one to waste time when I do not have to, so I quickly travelled up and down some aisles that looked typical of 'non-food' products, but to no success. So I asked a guy who worked there, and with a confused look on his face, he told me it was his first day and he had no idea. So I travelled along to the big main aisle at the back of the store. I quickly read over the signs and did not see anything that said 'GARBAGE BAGS HERE!'...maybe I was looking for a little too obvious of signs. I started to head toward the dairy section, but then rationalizing to myself that garbage bags wouldn't be mixed in with the food aisles that direction, I headed full speed toward the butchery. Here I found help. I turned to another friendly associate and gave him the same request for help as I had earlier to the other employee. That's when he turned to face the dairy section (the one I had just fled from). This is the point where I felt like I was going to look a little silly for missing the garbage bads...so I once again quickly read the overhanging signs (more thoroughly this time) and before he could get out a complete sentence, said something to the effect of 'oh, I must have overlooked the aisle that says 'plastic bags'...aisle 15...thank you,' and quickly darted that way. As I walked back toward the dairy section that I had so easily dodged with my logic, I realized there were parallels with this in my spiritual life....here goes....

Often when I face something I want(ed) in my life (a new career, a Godly man to be a future husband, high school graduation, college graduation, a healthy baby, etc. etc.) I realize I rush through, trying to get the most done possible and just hit the highlights. Just like in the grocery store, when I try to do this, I often end up missing my true goal and getting even more lost along the way. I begin to seek help from therapists, best friends, self-help books, etc. who (even though they try their best) may not always know or have the answer for me [this parallels the new guy at the grocery]. Then, when I begin to assume that logically something can't work out [this parallels the dairy section dodge] like a medical problem, exam, or relationship issue, I get it all wrong and turn the wrong direction. Finally (and hopefully) when our own path/logic and the help of others does not get us to the goal, we ask the assistance of Godly council or from the Big Guy (Christ) Himself for the answer. ...and then He points us in the right direction and we get the 'ooooh, of course you had it right there in the right order clearly labeled, God' that we deserve for being impatient.

So the point in all that jumbled mess: if I had slowed down and taken everything in front of me in one step at a time, if I had let the garbage bag aisle (representative of a choice or event in your life) arrive at the right time in the right order, perhaps things would have gone a little more smoothly. Be patient, seek the right council, but when things don't always work out when and how you want, don't get anxious...there is a reason.

Here are some verses to back this up...after all, the Word of God (the Bible) is the rock upon which our lives should be founded.
Proverbs 1 digs into wisdom, and to get the full thrust of the chapter without confusing the pictures within it, here it is, all for the reading. Really ponder on seeking wisdom and knowledge in your life. How do you think you can do that more? Well, what do you consider a source of wisdom? If God is the most wise of all...and He is...perhaps reading His Word is a good start? Indeed.
Proverbs 1:
"The proverbs of Solomon son of David, king of Israel:
for gaining wisdom and instruction;
for understanding words of insight;
for receiving instruction in prudent behavior,
doing what is right and just and fair;
for giving prudence to those who are simple,
knowledge and discretion to the young—
let the wise listen and add to their learning,
and let the discerning get guidance—
for understanding proverbs and parables,
the sayings and riddles of the wise.
The fear of the LORD is the beginning of knowledge,
but fools despise wisdom and instruction.
Listen, my son, to your father’s instruction
and do not forsake your mother’s teaching.
They are a garland to grace your head
and a chain to adorn your neck.
My son, if sinful men entice you,
do not give in to them.
If they say, “Come along with us;
let’s lie in wait for innocent blood,
let’s ambush some harmless soul;
let’s swallow them alive, like the grave,
and whole, like those who go down to the pit;
we will get all sorts of valuable things
and fill our houses with plunder;
cast lots with us;
we will all share the loot”—
my son, do not go along with them,
do not set foot on their paths;
for their feet rush into evil,
they are swift to shed blood.
How useless to spread a net
where every bird can see it!
These men lie in wait for their own blood;
they ambush only themselves!
Such are the paths of all who go after ill-gotten gain;
it takes away the life of those who get it.
---[The Rebuke from Wisdom, vs. 20-33]
Out in the open wisdom calls aloud,
she raises her voice in the public square;
on top of the wall[d] she cries out,
at the city gate she makes her speech:
“How long will you who are simple love your simple ways?
How long will mockers delight in mockery
and fools hate knowledge?
Repent at my rebuke!
Then I will pour out my thoughts to you,
I will make known to you my teachings.
But since you refuse to listen when I call
and no one pays attention when I stretch out my hand,
since you disregard all my advice
and do not accept my rebuke,
I in turn will laugh when disaster strikes you;
I will mock when calamity overtakes you—
when calamity overtakes you like a storm,
when disaster sweeps over you like a whirlwind,
when distress and trouble overwhelm you.
“Then they will call to me but I will not answer;
they will look for me but will not find me,
since they hated knowledge
and did not choose to fear the LORD.
Since they would not accept my advice
and spurned my rebuke,
they will eat the fruit of their ways
and be filled with the fruit of their schemes.
For the waywardness of the simple will kill them,
and the complacency of fools will destroy them;
but whoever listens to me will live in safety
and be at ease, without fear of harm.”

...so fear the Lord. And by that, I mean, hold Him in the highest esteem, the highest control, the highest knowledge, and the highest of things you seek. He has wisdom for you to gain. After all, wise men still seek Him...