"Ask and it will be given to you; seek and you will find; knock and the door
will be opened to you. For everyone who asks receives; he who seeks finds; and
to him who knocks, the door will be opened." (Matt 7:7-8 NIV)
It was a perfect day for Six Flags Darien Lake. The sun shone brightly, and it
promised to be another hot, somewhat humid day, just the perfect thing for the
water park. But the best part was that although this was a Friday in the middle
of the summer, there were hardly any people!
The very first thing we all did as we entered the park was to liberally smoother
every exposed body part with sunscreen. I was feeling rather smug as I lathered
up my arms, all the way up to the sleeves of my tee-shirt, and slapped a handful
onto the back of my neck. There really wasn't any need to put any anywhere else.
My face was hidden under the brim of my hat, and my legs? Well who ever got
sunburn on their legs when all they were doing was walking around? After a quick
visual inspection to see that the three kids and my husband had all done the
same thing, I pushed the bottle of sunscreen down into my pocket, and we went
merrily on our way.
We spent the first two hours riding all of the roller coasters. (Okay. Time to
be honest here. "I" spent the first two hours WATCHING the others ride the
roller coasters. Although I still love the thrill of the speed and the flips,
I'm getting old, and my poor head and spine just can't handle it anymore!).
By the time we had finished all five of the wildest coasters, it was time for
lunch, and we traipsed out to the car for our picnic. I was tired of having the
sunscreen in my pocket by this time, so I shifted it into the front pocket of
the sling I was using to carry everyone's water bottles (If you don't ride the
roller coasters, you're only good as a water carrier. If you don't believe me,
ask the kids!).
After lunch, we grabbed the bag with our swimsuits and towels, and we headed off
to spend the hottest part of the day in the water park. What better place? And
what a good time we had. My husband accepted the official position of "stuff
guarder", and he proceeded to find a chaise in the shade. I'm not exactly sure
what he did to fill his time, but I suspect he made at least one brief trip into
dreamland! Meanwhile the rest of us changed into our swim suits and headed for
the lazy river. I briefly thought about sunscreen as we walked away, but only
for a second. After all, we had put some on at the beginning of the day, right?
After the second trip around the lazy river, we began looking for more of a
thrill. The water slides fit the bill exactly. But the most thrilling water
slides were on the other side of the water park, and after two runs on the ones
by the lazy river, we were ready for wilder adventures. As we walked back
towards where we had left my husband, I noticed that the shoulders of the
neighbor girl who had come with us were turning a little pink. Hum. How could
this be? We had used sunscreen! Then it hit me: we weren't in our swim suits
when we had brought out the bottle! This poor girl would fry to a crisp if I
didn't do something soon! And if she was already burning, what about me? And my
two boys?
We found our things exactly where we had left them, and I immediately dug into
the main pouch on the sling for the sunscreen. Nothing but water bottles! Oh
dear! I frantically pulled out all of the bottles to make sure the sunscreen
hadn't slid down under them. Nothing! Had I just THOUGHT I had put the sunscreen
in the pouch? Had I really put it in the car instead?
Turning to the neighbor girl, I asked: "How are your shoulders? Are you getting
burned?" Dumb question. I already knew she was!
"Oh no," came the quick reply. "I'm okay!"
"Good!" Was my enthusiastic response. Though I knew she was burning, I allowed
her answer to appease my concerns. I didn't want to go back to the car!
It wasn't long before I noticed that the neighbor girl's back was no longer
pink. It had turned a bright shade of red. "You need sunscreen!" I said.
She glanced over her shoulder. "Yeah, I do," she answered.
"I must have left it in the car!" I admitted.
"Oh, I'll be okay!"
Just the answer I was looking for, and conscience appeased, we proceeded down
the next water slide. And the next. And into the wave pool. And back to the
wading pool, where we had left my husband.
By this time we were ready for other amusement. Why not the water rides in the
park? We had seen three good ones earlier in the day.
My guilt-ridden conscience was glad to see that the kids all put on tee-shirts.
This would provide them with some protection from the sun. I didn't bother with
one. I knew I would just be getting wet, and why not stay in my swim suit? And I
proceeded to turn a blind eye on the first water ride, when the tee-shirts came
off the kids, too.
It was 5 o'clock when we finally finished with water rides and took our swimming
things back out to the car. Still feeling pretty guilty about the bright red
color all over the neighbor girl. I frantically searched the back of the car for
the sunscreen, but to no avail. It simply wasn't there! I bit my lip in
frustration. Where could it be? But the sun HAD lost its power by this time, so
why worry? And I pushed it out of my mind.
It was while waiting for the kids to go on one last roller coaster that I
happened to notice a lump in the front pouch of the sling, the small one in
front of the pouch that held the water bottles. I zipped it open, and sure
enough, there was the bottle of sunscreen. It had been with us all along, I just
hadn't bothered to worry about it enough to find it.
By the time we got home, I realized that the neighbor girl wasn't the only
human-turned lobster in our party. My own back and shoulders, and even my chest
burned and itched, a sure sign that by the next morning I would be miserable.
All because I hadn't bothered to search out the bottle of sunscreen!
Friends, no matter what problem we face in life, there is a solution. We don't
have to go through our trouble without help, Jesus. But just like I didn't
bother looking hard enough to find that bottle of sunscreen, sometimes we refuse
to let Jesus help us. We figure we can do it on our own, or the trouble is too
much for Jesus. Or sometimes we simply think that since we may have asked Jesus
for protection first thing that morning, that we have enough of Him to handle
all of our problems. And then we find ourselves sinking deeper and deeper into
the mire of circumstance.
Friends, if you are getting a sunburn (in the middle of trouble), don't just try
to "go it" without sunscreen (without Jesus!). All you'll end up with is a
terrible burn (frustration, lose of heart, troubles mushrooming). And if you
can't seem to find the sunscreen (Jesus in the midst of the trouble), don't just
assume it's in the car (He's abandoned you)! Keep on searching (keep on
trusting) and in the end, you WILL find the help you need!
Lyn Chaffart
The Illustrator: This daily newsletter is dedicated to encouraging
everyone to look towards Jesus as the source of all the solutions to our
problems. It contains a daily inspirational story, a Bible verse and encouraging
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The Nugget: Published three times a week, this newsletter features inspirational devotionals and mini-sermons dedicated to drawing mankind closer to each other and to Christ.