(A timely message from Jenny Edwards MBE of the Disabled Christian Fellowship)
I am a long-term wheelchair user and my electric wheelchair is an amazing tool in many ways, but as with so many wonderful things it can also go wrong. And that is a wonderful illustration of how we feel at times – and how God can intervene at the not-so-good times.
Do you sometimes have days when you feel things are just not running smoothly? I often do, and on those days I frequently find my chair simply does what it wants to do and not what I want it to do! For instance, doors and walls get in the way and I crash into them knocking off the paint and causing even more frustration than before. Admittedly, this is mainly due to my not concentrating whilst driving, but at the time I see it as a wheelchair fault!
Another situation is when the chair takes on a mind of its own. The joystick on the chair is extremely sensitive and the slightest knock can send me in a direction I do not want to go, and at a speed that is frightening! This often happens when someone rests their arm on the chair, hitting the joystick. Again, I blame the chair, but really, if I had turned it off that would not happen. Once I actually had to be rescued from a bush in a ditch because I failed to turn the chair off whilst talking to someone! Another chair incident can be caused by failing to turn the battery charger on at night – no battery charge, chair no go!
You will have no doubt realised that every one of these incidents could have been avoided if I had been more careful. It is so easy to blame things or people when the day does not go to plan. I blame my chair, but that does not make me feel any better. However, just stopping still for a while, and using that time to connect with God, can and does change the day. A day that does not start with a conversation with God is never a good day for me, but the wonderful thing is, I canstop and connect with Him.
Source : Association for Church Editors