The Stone Thrower

Whenever there are thunderstorm warnings, I fill the bathtub.
When we lose power in a storm, we not only lose electricity, we also have no water.
Having our own well and our own septic system, we can do nothing when we lose power.
I fill the bathtub so that we have access to water for the duration of the outage.

Whenever I fill the tub, we never lose power.
When the storm comes up too fast and I fail to fill the tub, we inevitably lose power.
My children will text me when a storm is in the forecast: Make sure you fill the tub!
It happened just the other night.

Late in the afternoon, a tornado watch came through my text alert.
I went upstairs and filled the tub, just in case.
We had heavy rain and we had lightning that lit up the sky.
We never lost power; the storm never became the tornado they warned us about.

Of course filling the tub is something of a rabbit’s foot.
Filling the tub does not keep the power on.
But it sure feels that way.
It seems as if one thing is connected to another unrelated thing.

I got my car washed yesterday.
I was tired of seeing the little circles on the inside windshield from my GPS.
I was tired of seeing the pollen on my dashboard.
It was time.

As the men were drying off my windows, the clouds began to darken.
Minutes before my car entered the car wash, the sun was shining.
As my car exited the car wash, the storm clouds gathered overhead.
Isn’t that always the way it goes?

Get my car washed and it rains.
Wash my kitchen floors and someone finds the mud puddle.
Forget to fill the bathtub and we lose power.
Get in line at the store and the person in front of me needs a price check.

I was surprised at the way I reacted to something after I got home from the car wash.
I had moved packages to the back of the mini van before my car went through the wash.
I had taken my sunglasses, my iPod, and my purse with me.
I walked to the front of the car wash to wait for my car.

I was so grateful to the men who took such good care of me.
Even though it was just a regular wash, they were kind and considerate.
They held the door open for me.
I left with a wave and a smile.

When I got back, I put the few things back in my car that I had left here at home.
I noticed that my large umbrella was missing along with an ice scraper.
I looked under the seats and in the back of the mini van to no avail.
They were gone.

I was disappointed at the men who took such good care of my car and me.
I was disappointed that those ridiculous things would be missing.
I could replace each of them.
Perhaps the men really needed an umbrella.

I debated whether I should call the car wash.
After all, the things were mine.
They should not have been taken.
I argued with myself on the matter.

Then I saw them.
The large umbrella and the long ice scraper.
Tucked neatly away in the third row seat.
Out of the way of the men who cleaned my interior windows.

I was embarrassed.
I was disappointed in me.
I was so quick to accuse in my own mind.
I was so ready to dismiss my satisfaction for utter dissatisfaction.

Why was that my first response?
NO!
That’s not the way God works at all.
How blessed I am that God does not work that way.

The teachers of the law and the Pharisees brought in a woman caught in adultery. They made her stand before the group and said to Jesus, “Teacher, this woman was caught in adultery. In the Law, Moses commanded us to stone such a woman. Now what do you say?” They were using this question as a trap in order to have a basis for accusing Him.  But Jesus bent down and started to write on the ground with His finger. When they kept on questioning Him, He straightened up and said to them, “If any of you is without sin, let him be the first to throw a stone at her.” Again He stooped down and wrote on the ground. At this, those who heard began to go away one at a time, the older ones first, until only Jesus was left, with the woman still standing there. Jesus straightened up and asked her, “Woman, where are they? Has no one condemned you?” “No one, sir,” she said. “Then neither do I condemn you,” Jesus declared. “Go no and leave you life of sin.” (John 8:3-11)

If any of you is without sin, let him be the first to throw a stone at her.
That verse hit me right between the eyes.
I was so quick to assume that my silly umbrella and ice scraper were gone.
Taken, my fingers pointed in accusation.

They were not taken; rather they were neatly placed in the back seat.
Placed where they would not be stepped on or broken.
I pointed in accusation and three fingers pointed back at me.
I threw stones in my mind and like a boomerang, they came back to hit me in the head.

And rightfully so.

Therefore, there is no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus. (Romans 8:1)
No condemnation for me.
Yet I condemned.
I said guilty without knowing the facts.

I’m so glad that God has treated me with more mercy that I was willing to extend.
I stand convicted.
The stone in my hand has been laid at His feet.
Those words Jesus wrote on the sand were for me.