My Little Orange Purse
By Debby Perry
“I will put my trust in him.”
Hebrews 2:13, quoting Isaiah 8:17
I admit it; I love to shop for purses. I am always in search of the perfect purse. However, I am convinced that the quest for the perfect purse is about as successful as tracking down the Loch Ness Monster.
I have had small purses, satchels, tote bags, wallet purses, clutch bags, shoulder bags, flashy/glittery purses, professional-looking purses, and purses of all colors, materials, and sizes imaginable or unimaginable to woman-kind. I have finally settled on an “almost” perfect purse — a little orange purse . . . no pockets, dividers, or secret compartments to get in the way...just a little orange purse.
I really do not know how it happened. One day I threw out all the old receipts, chewing gum wrappers, checkbooks from accounts long ago closed, keys to houses I no longer remember how to get to, and an assortment of other non-essentials of my world. I have been able to condense the purse contents down to the bare necessities and what I had left fit perfectly into my little orange purse. It even has room left over for my keys, if I really stuff them in and am really insistent that the purse be zipped.
I got to thinking one day, if we could get our spiritual lives down to the size of my little orange purse — without carrying all the other psychological, intellectual, and religious baggage we think we need to hold onto — our lives just might be closer to what God intended for us. A friend suggested that I begin to pray “Wherever, whenever, Lord,” to surrender my will to God’s will. Well, I came up with about as many arguments against that prayer as there are grains of sand on my favorite beach.
First, the idea of being sent by God anywhere in the world is a scary one. I may not have the background, personality, or talents that God could use in an unfamiliar locale. God reminded me that true faith includes trusting Him to lead us where He wants us to go. He also reminded me that He is faithful to give us exactly what we need to be productive servants wherever He calls us.
Then, I thought of all the “stuff” I would have to take with me — furniture, clothes, shoes, books, linens, toiletries, food — just the basics. Hmmm . . . it appears that the materialistic side of me is sending up to God a most feeble argument.
How about leaving my 90-plus-year-old mother? Surely my responsibility to her would be more important than moving to a remote foreign land and sharing the gospel with the people there. Not that they do not need the gospel, mind you, just that I am not very fond of remote foreign lands. Maybe He would send me there, and maybe He would not. God reminded me of my admitted priorities. He told me, if I acknowledge those priorities and He sends me to a remote foreign land, is He not also capable of caring for my mother?
“Wherever, whenever, Lord”? Can I really get my life down to the size of my little orange purse to answer affirmatively and with enthusiasm, “Wherever, whenever, Lord!”?
Among the few things I need to carry in my Little Orange Purse of Life is Psalm 27:4: “One thing I ask of the Lord, this is what I seek: that I may dwell in the house of the Lord all the days of my life, to gaze on the beauty of the Lord and to seek Him in His temple” (NIV). That pretty much sums up the reason for “Wherever, whenever, Lord.”
And, it fits in my little orange purse.
Pray with me: Lord Jesus, give me the courage to say, “Wherever, whenever,” with an exclamation mark instead of a question mark. Help me to prioritize my life according to Your will, and help me to live my life according to those priorities, just the basics, with no psychological, emotional, or spiritual baggage. Trim away the trash from my life and leave me with the one thing I should ask of You: that I may dwell in Your house all the days of my life, to gaze on Your beauty and to seek You in Your temple. Amen.