Friday, January 23, 2015

Ask, Seek, Knock



Ever go through Target or Walmart or a grocery store and watch a battle ensue between a parent and a child over an “I want . . .”?  There might be some reasoning that takes place. There might be an explanation as to why he/she can’t have . . . There might be some ignoring.  And sometimes, inevitably, there might be tears and a tantrum.

Way back when Hannah was three or four, she and Kim were grocery shopping and at some point in one of the aisles, Hannah asked for something, Kim said no, and Hannah threw a tantrum.  Kim’s response, which is pretty typical for her, was that she looked at Hannah, began to laugh, and said, “What are you doing?” and then walked away.  The result?  Tears stopped, tantrum stopped, and from that point forward, Hannah learned that she can ask and at times it will be yes, and at other times it will be no, and that’s the end of it.  Can’t say that would do it for other kids and parents, but it worked for us.

At Wil’s memorial service, Hannah gave a eulogy and she talked about three things she had learned from Wil.  The first was that if you want something a whole lot, or if you want to go somewhere special, you would clean the house and do some “extra” chores to “butter up” Kim and/or me.  And if the work was too much, the second thing she learned was to enlist the help of his sisters, Hannah and Emily, by bribing them with ice cream.  Now, Kim and I weren’t privy to Wil’s “plan” but we did suspect that a fourteen or fifteen year old kid doesn’t clean the house out of the goodness of his heart just because he felt like it.  Yes, we did know something was up, but we played along and sometimes it was a yes and at other times it was a no.  And, the house got cleaned too!

Ask, Seek, Knock.

Those three words have come to mean a lot to me throughout my life.  They come from a Bible verse, Matthew 7:7.  Whether or not you ‘believe’, that particular verse brings much comfort and a whole lot of hope, and I find myself at many times in the course of a week, even a day, reflecting upon it.

Those three words, Ask, Seek, Knock, are action verbs.  They certainly aren’t passive, not by any means.  In fact, they almost sound like commands.  Each is a different action and each has a different meaning.

Kids Ask parents and adults for things all the time.  Sometimes they want an answer to something that is puzzling them.  Sometimes they want reassurance.  And sometimes, the answer isn’t quite what he or she might want to hear, but there is an answer nonetheless.  Adults Ask other adults for this or that, and sometimes it is a yes and sometimes it is a no.  And sometimes, like kids, adults Ask for reassurance from those who can give it.

There are other times when we go searching for something.  We might look in the wrong place, at the wrong time, but we Seek.  It is active.  We pursue it.  Sometimes we might find what it is we are looking for, but at other times, we don’t because sometimes, what we seek is elusive, isn’t there, or not exactly where we are searching for it.

And then there are times when we buck up and Knock.  Now to me, the only way we can Knock is to leave our turf, our own comfort zone.  To Knock means that I meet someone else on his or her own turf, not my own.  At that point, we are invited in, but at other times, we might be turned away.  After we Knock, we can Ask, we can Seek, and like what I had stated previously, the answer at times might be yes, while at other times it might be no, and we might find what we’re searching for, but at other times we might not.

But to Ask, Seek, or Knock means that WE must DO.  WE must ACT.  The onus is on us.  WE are the DOER.  It is not done to us. 

And there is some level of satisfaction in that.  We have the power, the control over our own actions, our own words, over our own wants and needs.  We are acting, not passively existing.  Fearful at times?  You bet!  Frustrated at times?  Absolutely!  But if we never Ask, we won’t ever have an answer.  If we never Seek, we will never find.  And if we don’t Knock, that door will never be opened.  Not ever.  Something to think about . . .

Live Your Life, and Make A Difference!

To My Readers:
I know I sound like a broken record, but from the very bottom of my heart, I want to thank you for choosing to not only read my posts on my blog, but I want to thank the many of you who took a chance on an unknown, rookie writer and read my two novels, Taking Lives and Stolen Lives.  Currently on one Amazon list, and there are many, Taking Lives sits at #3 and Stolen Lives sits at #4.  The reviews have been wonderful and I thank you for taking the time to read, rate and review each.  For those of you who like thriller fiction, my books can be found on Amazon.  There links are as follows:



Thanks,
jl

  

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Thank you for your comment. I welcome your thought. Joe