Chrystal’s Chronicles Repost (5/27/13): I love this idea of looking for God in unexpected places. This is a great lesson to be reminded of…even if we still have trouble sometimes finding the remote!

For the last two weeks, we have been without our remote. We looked EVERYWHERE, more than once, in great detail, and no remote.

I have know idea how irritating, nerve-racking, and frustrating living without a remote for so long can be. To think that we actually had to get up and turn the channels manually!
Back in the day of televisions with knobs, this would have been a small price to pay, but today when you add in satellite television, what used to be 7 or 8 channels is now 300-400 channels. You have no idea how long it takes to scroll manually from Good Morning America on Channel 8 to Sesame Street on Channel 291! It’ll make a person rethink paying money for all those channels that are so hard to access!

In the 10 minutes it takes me to complete the task of moving from one television program to another, Sumo can pull off a diaper, Kano can roll off the couch, and Gracie can sneak in a nap during school hours. Needless to say, we watched a lot less TV during our remote crisis.

We looked EVERYWHERE for the remote. We reached in cushions, emptied bags, rummaged through trashcans, overturned toy baskets, and opened every kitchen drawer. I even think I looked in the car.

On this day, our day of rejoicing, I was sitting with Gracie at the kitchen table going over the day’s assignments. We were discussing our Bible reading. As I explained the depth of completely sacrificing oneself and desires to God, VOILA!, there it was. Mid-sentence, I cried out REMOTE!!!!

Everyone immediately jumped from their seats and said in unison “WHERE”!?

Unbelievably, the remote was sitting on a ledge. This particular ledge faces our dining room table. It houses a picture frame, candle, and an artificial ivy plant. I pass this ledge multiple times a day. To make matters worse, this very day I reached up and adjusted the ivy. As soon as recognized the remote I realized that I remembered seeing the remote earlier that day. It just didn’t “click”.

IS THAT A MESS OR WHAT!?!?!

That got me to thinking….How many times is something that I seek from God right there in my face. I’m seeking, and overturning, and digging, and rummaging, trying desperately to find something that is right in front of my face but maybe just in an unexpected place.

I looked for that remote in all the “expected” and “normal” places that are known for remote loss and never once considered looking on the ledge. If I would have just gotten out of the box a bit, I would have saved my index finger all of that pain and inconvenience.

I wonder what God is waiting to reveal to me as soon as I stop trying to put Him in a box and to find him in the expected places.

What a lesson learned. Hopefully, next time I’m in need of insight, the remote won’t be the teaching tool!