My favorite movie is Casa Blanca. There is a scene where Humphrey Bogart is talking to Ingrid Bergman, and he refers to their love affair in the midst of WWII as meaning as much to the world as a hill of beans. There are bigger problems than two separated lovers. I have been talking to God about my hill of beans for a while now. Dirty Laundry, dirty dishes, insomnia, fruit flies, a mystery spot on the carpet, my need for a date with my husband, the budget….. all are things when compared to the problems of this world mean about as much as a hill of beans.
I was laying between my two girls last night at bedtime while they fell asleep, and my hill of beans began to run through my mind. My husband is leaving at the end of the week. He will be gone for the rest of the month, and I know this is only a taste of yet another impending twelve- month deployment to Iraq. I have two mountains of laundry (both dirty and clean). My sink has dirty dishes in it. I have a research paper due. Soon I had doubts creeping in my mind on my abilities as a mother. To add to the sorrow, earlier in the evening I had rolled my ankle on a pair of shoes that were left in front of our back door. I still went grocery shopping and made dinner without having a moment to stop. It wasn’t until I started slowing down for the evening that it really began to throb.
So there I was laying between my two girls, beans running though my head, and tears running down my face. I said a quick prayer, “Lord help me.” Then I rolled over to face my two- year- old who I thought was almost asleep because she had been quiet for nearly ten minutes. Instead of sleeping, Olivia locked eyes with me, reached over to my face, placed her thumb and pointer finger firmly on my nose, and she squeezed hard. With a grin she said, “honk!” An experienced parent knows that laughter while trying to get kids to sleep at bedtime will only incite an excitement close to that of a ride at Disneyland. I couldn’t help it. I laughed out loud, and I laughed hard! Hearing our laughter, my five- year- old Isabella decided she wanted to be a part of the laughter and joined in with us. It didn’t take long for the girls to settled back down, but this time we all had smiles on our faces. Again, sandwiched between my two daughters, I rolled over to face Isabella. She immediately put her little arm around me and said, “I love you mama.” For the second time that night my eyes filled with tears, but this time I thanked God for showing me His love.
I am delighted that A HUGE AWESOME GOD wants to hear my worries, frustrations, and daily struggles. He wants to hear about the details of my life. He wants to hear the details of your life too. Won’t you tell him about your hill of beans?
“Ask and it will be given to you; seek and you will find; knock and the door will be opened to you. For everyone who asks receives; he who seeks finds; and to him who knocks, the door will be opened. Which of you, if his son asks for bread, will give him a stone? Or if he asks for a fish, will give him a snake? If you, then, though you are evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your Father in heaven give good gifts to those who ask him!” (Matthew 7:7-11)
By Anna Sims
I am a mother, nurse, wife and most importantly a daughter of God! My Army veteran husband and I have been married for 16 years this August. We have to awesome girls and I am blessed with two stepchildren, so we have 2 to 4 in the house depending on the time of year! We call Texas home, but have lived all over the country and weathered several combat deployments. My husband was injured in 2014 and is still receiving treatment at Walter Reed hospital. For now we are residing in Maryland.
