The Secret

No, this isn't about 'The Secret' in all the media now, even though I agree with some of its concepts. This is a different one.

Years ago, I learned The Secret to never wandering away from God. The crawling back all crying, skin-kneed, sorry and having wasted your life or ruined others' lives type of wandering.

I'd always been taught that The Secret was reading l-o-n-g passages of the Bible every morning, praying by the clock and sitting in a church pew every single instance that the doors were unlocked. And constantly talking about your faith, whether people wanted to listen or not. You know, being one regimented, good little Christian soldier.

And maybe that works for you. That's cool. I get that.

But The Secret--for me, anyway--is something different altogether. Simply put? I try never to stop needing God for even one minute of my days.

I drive our car into the supermarket parking lot and as I open the car door, I ask under my breath, "Please help me make wise choices with our money while I'm shopping."

While I'm yanking the lawnmower out of the crowded shed I say, "Please help me start this thing up right away and keep it going safely."

All day long it's "Please help me."  "Please help me speak kindly to Tom when he gets home from work, even if he does something to annoy me."  "Remind me to write down all the tasks I need to do so I won't forget any of them" "Show me the best ways to do all my chores today."

It's that constant neediness of Him which keeps me close. I can never become too distracted, too lost, if I require His help every hour.

And something else--a constant gratefulness. When I find something I misplaced, I'm quick to thank God for leading me to it. When I pull into a terrific parking place downtown, I say aloud, "Thanks for that!". When I run out of mayonnaise or cheese or cereal--and there's a terrific sale on them that week--I whisper, "Thank-you" right there in the store aisle.

It's that constant gratitude which keeps me close, too. It's having Him always on my mind--and finding joy in that. It's in enjoying God in all my hours.

These are the secrets.


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"By myself I can do nothing..." John 5:30


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