No Bows Necessary
If you've ever wrapped a gift, and you want to make it extra special, you put a bow on it. There’s something about adding a bow to a present that not only makes it beautiful and more appealing, but it says it's complete as the last part of the process.
This can be our tendency when we are processing our stories with others. There can be this sense of hesitancy to share when we are in the midst of a trial, and the difficulty we face has yet to be resolved.
Recently I was asked to share with a group at church how I have seen God's faithfulness in my life, and I wrestled with whether I should share about the ongoing, burdensome challenges with my family. I was hesitant because I’m still in the middle of it all. It’s not past tense, but present. I wasn’t coming with the end of the story of how I had overcome, and it was no longer a challenge. The story was incomplete, and there was no way to put a bow on it. And as I said, we all like bows; they make things seem neat and complete.
Not long ago, I heard Dr. Kelly Kapic speak about his book You're Only Human: How Your Limits Reflect God's Design and Why That's Good News. He shared how God, being the Creator of the universe and everything in it, values processes, and we see this value displayed in how He went about creation. He went on to say while God is omnipotent, having access to all power, He could have created all that we see, the light, water, and the variety of vegetation in those early chapters of Genesis in one fell swoop. But that's not how He chose to do so. He took His time...it was a process. We see creation come about bit by bit, separated out by days. While I can't grasp why God does things as He does, I agree with Kapic that it shows God's value for processes. And from that, I'm seeing that the more I can learn to value the process, the more I can appreciate that no bows are necessary.
When faced with trials, I want nothing more than to be on the other side with the bows. Where it is wrapped up and complete as I sit comfortably with a testimony seemingly complete, but on this side of eternity, as I teter in what’s often referred to as the already not-yet world, not only are bows not necessary, they are not always promised. And in the meantime, I want a heart that reflects that of the Psalmist in Psalm 121. vs. 1-2, I lift up my eyes to the hills. From where does my help come? My help comes from the Lord, who made heaven and earth. Even without the bows, I know that in the midst of my trials, the Lord is my help.
When I paused, I could reflect that even without the bow, God was at work in my heart and in the lives of my family. And though it's not yet complete, progress is still being made, and that is worth rejoicing. If I am going to truly value processes, I must also choose to see and celebrate that there is indeed progress in the process.
Sometimes, I can stress myself by wanting to put bows in places where it's not yet time for a bow. But as I wait on the bow, be it if it's complete in my life in this lifetime or the next. I can, even in the trial, hold to be true how Psalm 121 continues:
3 He will not let your foot be moved; he who keeps you will not slumber.
4 Behold, he who keeps Israel will neither slumber nor sleep.
5 The Lord is your keeper; the Lord is your shade on your right hand.
6 The sun shall not strike you by day, nor the moon by night.
7 The Lord will keep you from all evil; he will keep your life.
8 The Lord will keep your going out, and your coming in from this time forth and forevermore.
The Lord is keeping me. The Lord is keeping you. And that there is the "bow"!