The Spinning Screw

I went to the chapel recently to pray after feeling rather frustrated with one thing or another in life. I put up the kneeler and there was a loose screw. I tried to get it to tighten, but it was stripped so it just kept spinning no matter how much I turned it until I finally realized I couldn't do anything about it.

Ironically, this suited my state of mind perfectly. We often are spinning our wheels trying to navigate through problems in life and it seems like we are unable to change things no matter how hard we try. It's as if God is telling us just that. Sometimes we can't fix things because they are out of our control. For someone who likes to fix things, this can be a difficult reality to accept.

God wants to take those spinning screws from us.

We take on burdens that God would gladly take on for us. We should let Him be our Knight in shining armor Who would like to see us rely on Him more and not try to struggle along without His help. Often the best we can do in any challenging situation is pray. 

When we feel like we can't see the path we are supposed to take, be it for something small or big, we should be at peace with knowing if prayer accompanies us we will not misstep, even if things don't always go the way we planned, or when we reach the end of a path it led us somewhere we didn't expect.

Because the reality is, life is filled with twists and turns. If it was a simple straight road, we would look behind us and the person standing at the beginning of the road would look the same as the person at the end (meaning you won't change in any way). That person looks like a spinning screw because they stayed exactly the same.

If there were hills and valleys, dark and light patches, meandering and falling, the person who made it through that comes out really different than the first example if they didn't give up. Their screw held the kneeler together because it was anchored on prayer, and they triumphed despite all odds.

On this first Sunday of Advent, let us turn to God and let Him ease our burdens. That's what He is asking us this Christmas season.