OUT TO PASTOR: Knowing everything is a blessing – and a curse

If you ever spent more than five minutes with me, you would conclude that I do not know everything. I would agree 100%.

It is not bad that I don’t know everything. I know today more than I knew ten years ago, if that is any consolation.

The thing that is surprising to me is that I do not know what I need to know when I need to know it.

Although I struggle with not knowing everything, I don’t make it a priority in my life. I accept that I do not know everything, and if I can learn something new, I’m all for it.

This is not true for everyone in our house. The Gracious Mistress of the Parsonage, according to my experience, knows just about everything. Even though I have known her for over 50 years, I still can’t understand how she’s reached that point.

It’s been a blessing because when I can’t do something, I ask her; she knows it, and more than that, she can explain it to me.

A few years ago, her vehicle broke down. I don’t remember what was wrong with it, but we had it towed to the garage to fix. I took my wife to the garage with her vehicle.

When we got there, she walked in to talk to the mechanic. The Gracious Mistress of the Parsonage told him what was wrong with her vehicle and what he needed to do to fix it.

He looked at me, then back at her, and said, “Yes, ma’am. I’ll take care of it.”

When we went to pick up her vehicle, the mechanic said, “Ma’am, how did you know what was wrong with your vehicle – and furthermore how did you know how to fix it?”

She went into a long explanation, and when she finished, he looked at her and asked, “Would you like a job here?”

That night around the dinner table, we chuckled at the day’s events.

Knowing everything can be a great blessing, but it can also be a curse.

When it comes to thrift store shops within a 100-mile radius of our home, The Gracious Mistress of the Parsonage knows them all and everything about them. She is a regular visitor to every one of them. Not only does she know them, but everybody knows her.

I know where all the McDonald’s restaurants are, but that’s my limit.

Monday this past week, The Gracious Mistress of the Parsonage went grocery shopping in the next town. When she got home, I could see she was very frustrated. I couldn’t understand her frustration, and sometimes I’m cautious about asking.

So all I said was, “How was your shopping trip?”

“Grrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrr.”

I was concerned because I knew at this point she was frustrated about something.

“Do you know,” she said as frustrated as I’ve ever seen her, “that there’s a new thrift store just 5 miles from our house? The store has been there for over a year, and I didn’t know about it.”

I was almost as shocked as she was because that did not seem real. How dare a thrift store shop open up without telling her? Nobody in the other thrift stores even mentioned it to her, which was strange.

How this information slipped by my wife is a mystery above my pay grade. It shows that even when you know everything, there is something you don’t know.

I knew that the next several days were going to be difficult until she was able to go and visit that new store. I was tempted to go along with her, but under the stress of the situation, I thought it was not a good idea.

When she returned from visiting the new thrift store, her face was all aglow. There was a wonderful smile on her face while she carried a basket full of items from the store.

Looking at me, she said, “I had the most wonderful time at that new thrift store shop. It’s a wonderful place and I got to know everybody there.”

It certainly wasn’t surprising to me. Now she knows all the thrift store shops in the area, for which she was very grateful.

If anybody wants to know what thrift store they should visit, my wife asks, “What are you looking for?” When they tell her, she then tells them which one to go to and how much they can expect to pay for that item.

I’ve learned that wisdom is a vital aspect of life. A Bible verse that says this is James 1:5, “If any of you lack wisdom, let him ask of God, that giveth to all men liberally, and upbraideth not; and it shall be given him.”

When I recognize how short I am on knowledge, I then can come to God who is liberal in His giving of knowledge. My choice is, rely on my wisdom or the wisdom of God. That’s the only wisdom I can trust.

Dr. James L. Snyder lives in Ocala, FL with the Gracious Mistress of the Parsonage. Telephone is (352) 216-3025, e-mail is jamessnyder51@gmail.com, and website is www.jamessnyderministries.com.