I recently watched a little boy trying to get candy from one of those old-fashioned gumball machines. I rarely see such machines now, but I was in a neighborhood hardware store that hasn’t changed much since the 1950s.
The boy was frustrated, because he couldn’t figure out how to work the machine. He kept trying to place a quarter inside the chute where the gum or candy comes out. He tried to turn the crank, but he didn’t understand that the quarter had to be placed into a slot.
I attempted to show him where to put the quarter, but he wouldn’t listen. He was angry at the machine and ignored me — and kept making the same mistake.
“It’ll never work that way,” I gently told him in a friendly way, “because you’re doing it wrong.”
In the last few days, I’ve found myself thinking about that little boy. I’ve been watching all of the unhappiness and anger and misery of the world around me. I’ve been thinking about the things I see people doing that I know are never going to give them peace and joy. And I keep thinking about what God must think when he looks at his creatures.
“Your lives are never going to work this way,” he must think, “because you’re doing it all wrong.”
Life is full of choices, but some require us to ‘come before winter’
Why does most love hurt us? Because one usually loves more
Be careful what you hunger for; it’s very often not what you need
Brush with high-speed blowout leaves me thinking about death
Becoming who we’re meant to be is the hardest battle of our lives
Achievement or scam? Designer invents perfume you can’t smell
Banning access to guns won’t prevent the evil in human hearts
I was in love with her voice and didn’t want that call to ever end
What if most money spent for university degrees is useless?