DON’T MISS THE J 8.15.95

For some, they have to watch their P’s and Q’s. For me, I have to watch for J’s ... or else I’ll miss something very important.

It was a weekend trip to see the family. About 5 hours to get there, all totaled.

On the way, my wife and I played a game to help pass the time. Maybe you’ve done this with your family or played some version of it. We call it the “Alphabet Game”.

The rules are pretty simple ... you have to go through the alphabet from A to Z....using words you see on road signs or billboards. For instance...”A” in Ramada, “B” in Burger King, “C” in Chevron...and the one who gets to Z first, wins.

Well getting to Z wasn’t a problem for me... my problem was getting past J.

This was not the case for my wife, however. Her keen eyesight helped her establish a rather commanding, perhaps insurmountable lead. Or to put it more accurately, she was leaving me in the dust!

She was cruising to Z while I was loitering on the letter I and anguishing over the letter J....and the anguish got a bit ... oh, how shall I say it ... anguishier when she spotted a J that I didn’t even see. “I hate to tell you”, she said, “but there was a J back there on that billboard. It was a sign with the word Jesus, and you missed it.”

Great. Jesus staring me right in the face, and I missed Him.

Too bad....I was looking so hard in every other direction, I didn’t see the very thing that would solve my problem and propel me forward. The solution was right in front of me ... so obvious, yet I couldn’t see it.

And that, in a nutshell, is my daily challenge ... that no matter how hard I try, I can’t solve the problems I face on my own, or I’ll miss the solution. I have to look to Jesus, who’s standing right in front of me, plain as the nose on my face.

Or ... I guess you could say ... as obvious as five letters on a billboard.