Nationwide Insurance has some really clever commercials. The "Best Spokesperson" actor Bob Wiltfong takes the over-the-top approach to caring for the insureds. The one that really piqued my attention was the one with Jack Hanna the famous animal trainer. They reference how that having your insurances spread out with different companies can be compared to the sounds of many birds singing out of harmony. Here. Watch.
Once the insurer gets all his insurances with "one company" i.e. Nationwide, the birds all sing in harmony. The look on Jack Hanna's face was obviously intended to cause us to think his life was going to be more peaceful. Peace and harmony do go hand-in-hand, but sometimes...sometimes, that's not always the case. Life is not as simple as silly commercials make it out to be, that's for sure. I was recently in an auto accident and I really like my insurance company, but my insurance company didn't provide me with any peace. Sure, I was comforted in knowing that I would be able to pay for all the damages, but that certainly wasn't the source of my peace.
I wonder about ol' Paul. You know, he was ship wrecked three times and the only insurance he carried was his faith in the grace of God. We, like Jack Hanna implied in the commercial, can let ourselves get spread thin with all the "noise" in our lives. But, if we were to cast all our cares and burdens on God, we may just have the peace that Paul referred to in Philippians 4:6-7. I know for me, that when I get still before the Lord and meditate on His attributes; Who He is and that He loves me and cares about the things that really matter to me...there are no words that can express my gratitude.
With all the social networking we have today with Facebook and Twitter, our lives can be read in one sentence (sometimes sentence fragments) sound bites. You can see who is having a good day and you can see who is having a really bad day. We respond accordingly, with words of congratulations or words of encouragement. I wonder...January 17, 2011 has been dubbed "Blue Monday" because apparently that is the day more people are depressed than any other...What if we were to read all the post on Facebook and Twitter and gauge just how depressed everyone appeared to be. Then, let's dub January 24, 2011 "Yellow Monday" focusing on our blessings and see how everyones' attitude appears to be. I think if we were cognizant of our many blessings we would murmur and complain much less. Most of us would have the look of Jack Hanna and our spirits would be more at peace. Our attitude may just become that of gratitude, especially if we considered the source of our blessings.
Some things in life do not make sense to our finite, mortal minds. Some pains are deeper than merely "counting blessings" and having harmony. For those kind of hurts and pains...much time spent alone with God, our Father (Abba) and Creator, can and will help us see that His grace is sufficient to carry us through the darkest places the heart and mind can travel. My friend Todd Turner said it best..."Sometimes we need a little reminder, a pick-me-up. But sometimes it's much deeper. Some folks want to make the little things into major issues. And some folks try to sweep major issues under the rug, calling them little bumps in the road. It's the difference between a scrape that calls for a band aid and a major wound calling for surgery. Walking in good health means knowing how to tell the difference."
I encourage the hurting to get alone. Be still. Think of our Abba Father sitting on the throne and that He is in control. By faith, and again I say, by FAITH, trust Him to quiet the noise that is causing your pain.
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