Making Troubles Bigger Than They Are
With lights flashing and tires screeching, the men in blue raced to the scene. They found nothing. Now it was time to get back to the man who had made the frantic call. Though he sounded sane and was in good spirits, he reported emphatically that he could still see the Corvette through his telescope being tossed and turned in the sea.
Soon the police arrived at the man's home. And sure enough, they could also see a Corvette being smashed by the surf when they looked through the telescope. Upon closer inspection, however, they noticed some troubling discrepancies. The grains of sand looked like pebbles, and seashells were the size of large pumpkins. To the great embarrassment of the telescope neophyte, this discovery led to the retrieval of a foot-long toy Corvette by some amused police officers.
Someone sent me this story, so I don't relay it to you as fact. It does, however, make a good illustration about how we sometimes make too much out of our troubles. At times, the "telescope" in our minds magnifies struggles and problems to the point where we feel overwhelmed, depressed, and distressed. I seem to be particularly susceptible these days.
About a month ago, for example, I was trying to repair a badly deteriorated roof. What I thought might take the morning had already consumed a good part of the afternoon. At about 3:30 we were only about 10 percent complete. The whole project was taking far too long, and we would never be able to finish by dark. Plus, rain was supposedly imminent, and it might be weeks before the weather was right again. I fretted.
My wife suggested that we call Dean Baney, a friend who is always ready to help. I reluctantly agreed but hated to push my own difficulties off on someone else. Plus, Dean only had an hour to spare because of another obligation. Nevertheless, he eagerly agreed to come.
Thirty minutes later, two angels walked through my gate. Disguised in work clothes, they flew up the ladder and attacked the roof. Dean had brought John Sherman Gilliom with him.
In the next 10 minutes they accomplished more than my son and I had in the preceding hour. Dean left on time, and John stayed until dark. I honestly couldn't believe it, but the job was actually finished. A miracle had happened!
The telescope in my mind had inflated the situation to such proportions that it couldn't be solved with the resources at hand. But I had failed to consider how family, friends, and the grace of God can help bring even difficult problems back into proper focus. Next time, I need to point my telescope in a different direction.
Copyright 1999 James McAlister
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