Finding my wallet

Put your outdoor work in order and get your fields ready; after that, build your house.
-Proverbs 24:27

I have lost my wallet more than once. And when I say that, what I mean is that I lose my wallet daily. 

While I'm only partially scatterbrained, I do have a habit of tucking my wallet into random places (for safe keeping of course- definitely don't want to lose that thing!) and then later struggling to recall which safe place I stored it in. This most often occurs at the exact time that I need to leave the house. 

My family is pretty gracious and usually pauses what they're doing to help me find it. (Hint: it's usually in my car. If you want to rob me, start with my car.) 

Now, while I complain a decent bit about technology, some new tech out there has real value. There's this one item I've known about for a while. It's shaped like a credit card, and it's a wireless tracker that you slip into your wallet. You can open an app and locate where it is at any given time, and it makes a beeping sound if you can't find it. I can see if it's in my car, under the couch, or was left at a restaurant. Essentially, it makes your wallet impossible to lose. And it only costs around $20. 

Every time I've lost my wallet during the last two years, as I looked around in frustration, I've told myself that I am absolutely buying a tracker when I find it. It would save me so much energy and stress. Then, 5 minutes later or 2 days later, I inevitably find my wallet. And then something interesting happens. 
I decide I don't need the tracker. Because, you know, my wallet's not lost anymore. So I'm good. I'll deal with it when I reach my next existential wallet crisis. 

That cycle continued for about five times before finally I realized the folly of my thinking and bought the tracker.....during a time when I was not in the midst of a wallet-finding freakout. 

This is not an advertisement-- but my goodness, that thing has reduced my anxiety and saved me time. But now it's also become a reminder about soul formation and preparation in my journey with Jesus. 

I find it interesting that the above wisdom passage in Proverbs is incredibly practical. If you buy new land to farm and spend time building a house right away, you'll miss the planting season and then when the house is done, you'll be in crisis and have no crops. First, plant when you have plenty of time for it. Then move on, and your crops will be ready for you before you go hungry. 
It's a reminder that when we think about what needs to be attended to in our lives ahead of time, then we will be ready to go when real life hits. This seems to have both practical and spiritual implications as we follow Jesus. 

Far too often, we wait until we are in crisis to wish that we had the right tools to deal with the moment. We put off the things that we know will inevitably lead to a better life down the road, because we don't feel the pressing need at the moment. And then, when later comes, we realize that it didn't need to be this way if we had prepared differently. 

For me, it hits this way:
If we aren't willing to do the work of soul formation during the calm seas, we will not be ready to handle the raging storms. 

This seems relevant in hundreds of different ways. What do we put off doing until it's too late or nearly too late? What little words of love or forgiveness or encouragement need to be spoken now rather than later? What new life habits need to be instituted before a marriage reaches breaking point? What healthy rhythms of sabbath rest with Jesus can you start doing now when life is manageable, so that your well will be full when life is unmanageable? Where can you learn to trust others with your vulnerability, so that when a tragedy hits, you don't shut people out because of emotional discomfort? Or perhaps Jesus wants to address anger in you before a conflict comes that causes a blow-up with lasting harm. 

When we give ourselves space to reflect, we will find that there are things Jesus wants to shape and heal in us that may not feel urgent... but one day they will be. 

So maybe it's time to buy a wallet tracker card. Or maybe it's time to lean into prayer, or to forgive a parent, or learn more about another perspective (when you're calm!) that you don't understand that keeps causing conflict. And when you take that one step you don't have to do today, you'll notice the difference it makes when you need it tomorrow. 

Jesus, give me the courage to do things now that prepare me to reflect your character when the hard moments come.

Peace,
Keith