I asked my wife, my kids but no one had seen it. Argh........one of those moment you hate ,right ?
So when I was out having dinner with my family, I remember this word I had said before or blog before - Claims. Much like how the insurance works, they will pay you the damages (or you can claim) for what is stated in the policy subject to the terms and conditions stipulated.
Then, I return to what I had done before to find back the things I want , to search the Claims Department. This department is my own imagination faculty in my mind. To get myself uptight, stressed about it and kicking fuss over it (may seems logical from a behaviorial perspective) but really it does not resolve the problem.
If I have the keys I want, how would I feel now? That was the question I asked myself. I could not answer immediately as I was angry with myself , blaming myself for the loss. So I calm down, took a few deep breath, close my eyes and asked the question again - If the keys are in my hands now, how would I feel?
The answer - relief, able to do the task I promised my dad and progress. That was important, a few simple key words that I keep repeating to myself. These words have to be mixed with feelings for it to work else it is mere regurgitation and no magic spell would come. After I got into the state, I let it go and go about doing other things.
My wife asked me to go to the supermarket to get some groceries and usually my kids would rather stay at home than to come with me. This time, my daughter decided to come with me. And God knows why , she was wearing her shoes and saw the keys dropped to a cabinet below and was hidden there all along. What a relief ! I could truly hear myself letting out a sense of relief from my heart and putting on a bright smile.
Again, God is involved. He gave me what I wanted (the sense of relief, the promise I need to keep, the task I need to do) through the object - the keys to the bicycle. My daughter's actions was merely a catalyst and to me, another strong reminder from God not to stray from his words and be dependent on HIM always.
It is fair then to say that what I want and you want in all aspects of our lives lies in the Claims Department where we must have accumulated for decades without claiming for it. It is similar to making a claim on an insurance policy where you need to fill up the forms, provide the necessary documents as proof, etc.
Doesn't this remind you of James 1:23-24 - Anyone who listens to the word but does not do what it says is like someone who looks at his face in a mirror and, after looking at himself, goes away and immediately forgets what he looks like.
Could any of us likely to forget how we look like? I doubt so , reasonably. We looked at the mirror umpteen times from the moment we wake up to the time we sleep. So what does God mean in the above verse?
To listen to his words but not to practise it , internalise it and apply it in our lives are not different from the man who sees himself in the mirror and forgets what he looks like, isn't it? It serves no purpose since the mirror's job is to reflect the images of what is directed at it.
We too have a mirror and that is our wonderful mind , the one and only created by God in his image , above the animals that we have dominion over. This mind of ours can create miracles or wreak havocs - both circumstances created by the same mind. God leaves us with that choice, it is up to us to decide what to do with this heavenly gift from Him.
Like the insurance policy that promise a certain payout at the end of the maturity period, the conditions is to maintain the regular premium to sustain the policy. In God's Claims Department, it isn't the physical act of doing that many people are confused with or what the corporeal world wants us to be/do. Things remain in the Claims Department unclaimed not because it cannot be claimed or the policy is too restrictive but imo, it is the resistance, pride and control we mere mortals want over our situations than to let go and let God.
It is a world of doing , doing and more doing.
Out of job ? Get your CV brushed up, attend networking events, build up your online profile to get contacts, etc
Out of love ? Attend singles events, get someone to introduce, attend personal grooming course
Out of money ? Pursue higher degree, network with somebody to get to know that someone who might be able to help you, attend this financial success course, etc
Out of health ? Take this supplement, do this exercise, try this new outfit, etc
In God's world, if you think deeper, NOTHING needs to be done. Not that we don't have to work, exercise or earn money but the means to get it is much more effortless and easier than we thought (at least not the ways like above)
This might sound very controversial and many who do not buy this story will not agree or some even feel it is stupid or nonsensical. It is OK, leave me alone, the right people who needs it when they read it will get it. Many of us are still thinking if we have that strategy, that particular person to marry, that wonderful job, then our misery will end and we will then be able to live in our Lah Lah Land.
Try it for yourself. Find a small goal and do the way as I do (according to God's words) and realised it and you will slowly gain your confidence and grow your faith in His words. Only by your own experiments (not measured by how big or small but how important it is to you) that you would be convinced that this methodology, a long lost one , the most effective method provided for mankind and yet neglected by them.