I got the book ‘Soul Cravings’ by Erwin Raphael McNanus this weekend. I am laying in bed trying to decide what I want to read. I open the book and randomly flip to a page. The story he is telling is one of his 14 year old daughters 14th birthday and how she wants to know what she is getting. They end up flying to Nashville, where he is speaking at a conference. He goes on to tell how he had just bought her a Gibson guitar and they were staying next to the Gibson showcase. They went to the Gibson store in the mall and she got to play the exact model that was waiting for as a surprise at home. Then he went on to say this:
I think sometimes searching for God is like searching for a Gibson in Nashville.
The signs are everywhere. You just have to know what you’re looking for.
We are all searching for truth.
We are all looking for God.
We crave meaning.
We long to trust.
We need to believe in something.
We need to believe in someone.
We need to believe in God.
Is it possible that God is like a father waiting for us to read the signs?
I found this story very odd for a couple of reasons. Gibson Guitars are everywhere. I work there and everyday I walk past at least 50 guitars sitting in offices, the hallways, in boxes, even a huge guitar over the front door so the metaphor of searching for God is like searching for a Gibson in Nashville is very relevant and well a little eye opening for me.
How many times do I miss God in my life? How often am I looking but not picking up the guitar and learning to play? Everyday I listen to great players picking on their break and they are just waiting to be asked about the latest technique they are learned. Is God really like that? Is he just waiting for me to ask So God what have you been doing today?” As He excitedly tells me about the lives he saved, the tears he cried as He watched a child die, the joy He felt when I cared enough to sit at his feet and ask questions.
Tonight I feel a different perspective taking hold. Ever so slightly. Grabbing. Reaching. Leaning. Listening. Loving. Praying.
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