The Bus Ticket
18/01/2014 14:06
One Monday some months ago I was up bright and early. I was ready for an O bahn ride to the city. I’d prepared everything the night before. My bag was packed. My reading material was ready. My mp3 player was charged and tucked inside. An extra bag carried other important stuff like a few printed Google maps so I wouldn’t get lost in the city.
I sent out my blog emails several hours earlier than usual. I enjoyed a brief Quiet Time, then stuffed my prayer diary into an already full bag. I ate my breakfast; put on my party clothes! I was about to leave when I realised I’d better get my plastic bus pass ready so I wouldn’t have hunt for it when I was inside the bus. I opened my purse. I looked inside - where it usually reposes. It wasn’t there! Oh dear. Where was it? My bus was due in 5 minutes. I was cutting it fine. I needed it .. right NOW!
I hunted for it for a few minutes longer. But the clock was ticking too fast. There wasn’t even time to run into my son’s room to ask for his bus pass. I fished out a 5 dollar note and rushed out the front door. As I panted up the embankment that led to the main road, I hoped I hadn’t missed the bus. Breathless, I reached the bus stand. I opened my bag again and grabbed my purse. A feverish hunt once again. But, no; sadly, there was no bus pass. And my bus arrived. I had to give up.
‘How much is a day trip ticket to the city please?” ‘A friendly bus driver replied ‘$9.40” with a smile. $9.40? Whew? That much? It had gone up significantly since I’d last used one. $9.40 sounded way too high. But what’s a girl to do? I had to buy it. Once I had settled into a seat, my memory came back! Yes, I remembered where I had ‘hidden’ my bus pass. Some months before I’d discovered an outside compartment to my purse. I’d decided then that it was the perfect place for my bus pass, because I could access it so easily. But ……the ideal place didn’t contend with a 56 year old brain! Sad to say I had completely forgotten about the transfer.
I’d found that metro card too late. And I was $9.40 poorer for it. As I pulled it out of its pocket, I berated myself for a wasted $9.40. It was then that I felt God tap me on my shoulder. ‘You already have it’ He said. “I already have what Lord?” I asked? And then……. I knew exactly what He meant.
I already had everything I needed. Yes. And there I was searching high and low for what I already possessed. The bus ticket? Yes, the bus ticket. But a few other things too. Lately, I’d been facing a tough season. I seemed to have lost many things I needed.
Like …..Peace. Joy…. Contentment.
I’d looked everywhere for them. But I didn’t find those precious commodities. I asked friends for help. I puzzled over my losses, bewildered as to where they’d disappeared. Silly me! Thankfully, here now was God’s timely reminder. I didn’t have to go looking for all of those things. They were right here. In His Word. Within me. Through His Spirit. By His power. Because of His love. There are times I seem to have lost what I already possess. But as a Christian I do have everything I need, always, no matter what.
I have Jesus. And in Him I have joy, peace, contentment, all the time.
I have Jesus. And through Him I have eternal life.
I have Jesus. And through Him the answers to some of life’s conundrums.
I have Jesus. And through Him a family I belong to.
I have Jesus. And through Him untold riches of the spirit.
There are times when I forget that searching for those lost items rarely brings them my way. Jesus told me the secret. Instead of hunting in the wrong places for my bus pass that day, I should have stopped and thought about it. No doubt I may have found the answer. Instead of hunting all around me when I've lost my peace – I should simply seek God. He holds the key to my well being. My Joy. My Contentment. My Peace.
His Word reminds me of the secret. My joy does not come from outward circumstances. It comes through Him alone. My peace doesn’t depend on what happens to me. The Prince of Peace lives within. What Treasure! Let me remember next time.
“Seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness and all these things shall be added unto you.” Mathew 6:33
