where Something Seems to Be Missing

Have you ever had a church where it seemed like something was missing, but you were not sure what it was?

I had that kind of week this past week. It was as if something was missing, and I couldn't figure out what it was.

The past week has been typical of many things. Everything seemed to be going his way. But I had this impromptu thought in my head that I was missing something. I couldn’t really hold it.

At first, I thought that maybe I had missed my Apple Fritter. My New Year's resolution this year was to eat one Apple Fritter at a time. And in my recollection, I have not missed a single one so far this year.

So, it wasn’t the Apple Fritter I was missing. It was something, and it was starting to bother me.

I went out with my weekly organizer to see if there was a meeting I had missed or missed. I walked carefully, and everything I had to do this past week I did. However, something was missing.

I went back to my weekly routine for five or six weeks, and nothing was missing.

Maybe, I thought, I had a meeting I forgot to plan. So I asked the kind schoolgirl if she knew what I was missing.

Well, that was a mistake. He had a whole list of things, according to his schedule, that I had forgotten to do, It was probably a book full of “nonsense” that he thought I should keep.

I should have known better, but after completing all his “duties,” I still felt a little out of place.

I again made the mistake of speaking out loud and mentioning that I felt something was missing.

That’s all the Gracious Mistress of the Parsonage needed to hear, and again, she was in her game and gave me a whole list of things she thought I was missing.

 Can you imagine when I would be able to shut my mouth at this age? But I was annoyed that I was missing out on something, and I didn't like that. I love doing my job and getting everything done as quickly as possible.

I went to the bathroom, looked in the mirror, and saw that I had not shaved for a long time. I thought maybe this was something I was missing. That will definitely solve my anxiety.

So I went straight to the barber, cut my hair, and returned home. I was smiling all the way home because I thought I had found that non-church thing. I try to cut my hair every week, and sometimes I mess up, and I get out of the routine. But now, the haircut was done, and I was on my way home.

When I opened the door to enter the house, I began to feel that something was missing. Haircuts were not what I really needed, so I was back to normal.

As I was thinking about this, my wife came up to me and said, "Can you run to the store and find the few things I need tonight?"

Yes, I was determined to go shopping. I am not a shopaholic, but if I am given a list, I can afford it.

I had just put the last thing in the shopping cart and headed for the checkout, then I saw it!

I never thought I would solve my problem at the grocery store. But there was. I was walking down the candy corridor, and it was there; a few shelves full of CHOCOLATE.

There were all kinds of chocolate candy on those shelves. I just stopped and looked at all that CHOCOLATE and let the ambience fill my mind.

My wife can't eat chocolate for some reason, but I love chocolate. We have never had chocolate in the house since before this epidemic, which may explain my nervous feelings. There is nothing as cool and comforting to me as Joe's cup in one hand and a delicious chocolate bar in the other.

My only problem at the time was that I could not buy it. My favorite chocolate is the one I ate at the time.

Without judging, I chose one piece of chocolate from all the shelves in the area. I filled my basket with chocolate candy. When I arrived at the accountant's office, there seemed to be a huge weight off of me, and it seemed that there was going to be peace in my life for a long time.

As I drove home, I began to think about how I could get all this chocolate through my wife. I immediately set aside that and focused on the delicious piece of chocolate I was eating at the time.

I thought of a wonderful scripture. "The things which ye both learned and received and heard and saw in me, these things do: and the God of peace shall be with you" (Philippians 4: 9).

The peace of God is something that most people miss about their lives today.