What You Been Doing Besides Praying?

For Katharine

This past year has been particularly difficult for my sister; she has been out of work and ill for most of it. The doctor’s bills are looming and there hasn’t been any relief in sight. Now surely she has felt the goodness of the Lord regardless of the circumstances; she is loved, sheltered, feed, attending school, getting her medication, and still having some of her wants met. But nevertheless, like everyone, she needs the security and satisfaction of earning her own money. She needs a job, Lord!

Over the past year, she has been going through the same cycle, filling out applications, going on interviews, praying and waiting. Sometimes the wait is smooth, and sometimes the wait is rough. A month ago, the wait got rough and tough.  We were driving along and from the passenger seat she said, “I don’t know what the Lord is doing.” Not briefly taking my eyes off the road, I looked at her and said “I know but you’ve got to wait on Him.” I continued my little speech by telling her that I’ve been waiting to get out of debt for years, but it hasn’t happened yet. She then followed up with, “What you been doing besides praying!” Her little snide remark upset me; my lips balled up, my eyes smarted with tears, I wanted to pull the car over and do something unholy to her.  But instead, like a parrot, I nastily repeated, “What you been doing besides praying?!” and then I told her what I had been doing besides praying: the roll-up plan. The roll up plan consists in your taking a look at all your debt and then identifying the total balance and monthly payments on each bill. Then, while simultaneously making payments on all your bills, you zone in on the smallest bill. Once you’ve eliminated it, you then roll that money into the next smallest bill and then so on and so forth until you’ve knock out all of your debt completely.  After I relayed my plan, I then pursed my lips and told her, “You are something else, while thinking, There, I shut you up!”

As I reflect on that conversation, I understand why I was so upset and hurt.  My sister sees me praying, but she doesn’t see me doing anything. I sit accused. She is absolutely right; praying is good; it’s the best thing to do, but not the only thing to do.  We’ve got to pray, but we’ve got to keep it moving as well. The scripture reads that faith without works is dead.  This passage refers to service in the kingdom of God, but it also means moving with confidence, knowing that it is up to God and us to work His plan for our lives. We’ve got to ask God what to do, and then we must DO! Now God is surely able to do it all by Himself, but our futures will be far sweeter if we partner with God and have a hand in creating them. Paraphrasing Dr. Seuss, “Oh the places we’ll go, when we work with the master”.

Praying and Doing,

Ida Marie