Whistling, Algebra, and Keys

There are three things in life that are persistently impossible for me. Alright, so there might be a few more, but these three head the list of things that render me absolutely incapable. For one, my mouth simply isn't designed to whistle. If God wanted me to, I would have been born with a silver whistle in my mouth. I wasn't. Algebra and refolding road maps almost tie for second place in the list of utterly incorrigible tasks for me, although algebra wins out. I suspect they are related in some way, on some dark, unknown level of conspiracy. Lastly, but by no means less obnoxious on the list of my inabilities, is the use of keys in locks...

No, I am not joking, keys are a riddle to me. Maybe that's why I love them, collect them, and misplace them regularly. No matter how fond I am of keys, how to manipulate one in a lock remains baffling to me. Give me an unfamiliar key and door-lock and you'll have me occupied for long minutes of attempts and reattempts at opening the door. I have said numerous times that someday I am going to learn to pick a lock--simply because it would be faster.

I remember one of my churches to which I was given a key; it was such a thoughtful gesture of them, giving me a key...You would be amazed at the many ways a new key will not open a door. I discovered them all.

To take my idiosyncrasies a step further, the other day I approached a door, my hands full, my brain brimming with more thoughts than it could process at one time. I stood in front of the door with my car keys in hand, clicking the remote 'unlock' button. The only trouble was, I was in front of the church door--not my car. I chuckled with some embarrassment, mentally wishing all doors would accommodate my handicap by opening remotely.

After a few tries, I let myself in with the right key...and I remembered this quote: "Why should the sons and daughters of God be reluctant to pray, when prayer is the key in the hand of faith to unlock heaven's storehouse, where are treasured the boundless resources of Omnipotence?"

Really, why should we be reluctant to pray? Well, if I compare it to my own experience with keys, it's because it doesn't come naturally to begin with--sometimes it takes multiple tries. Besides that hurdle, there's the fact that unused keys always are harder to work in locks...I leave you to draw the comparison there. And on top of that, maybe we don't use our key because we're so accustomed to an automatic, push-button life that we'd prefer prayer-by-remote.

I guess that last one could be the greatest obstacle for me. Prayer means putting our modern, fast-paced life on hold, shutting off the push-button mindset where we do everything by remote, and taking the time for conversation with God. At least for me, that can be very hard to do when life seems to have two paces: fast and faster. However, when I get too rushed for prayer-time, I'm reminded of the command to "Be still and know that I am God;" if that is a challenge for you as well, maybe it's time to prioritize.

For myself, I have a perfect strategy for getting my prayer time in...Every time I stand fiddling with my key in the lock at every door I encounter during the day, I will have long minutes to devote to prayer.