The Lock

This morning Ben and I left the house around 7am to go on a "coffee date". :)  Ben had some shopping he wanted to do, so we stopped at Walmart before we went out for coffee.  There he found a padlock that he wanted; one that has a reset button to change the code for the lock.  So he bought it.  I warned him that the only downside to a lock like that was that he was going to have to remember what the code was every time he changed it.  I suggested that he should make sure he writes it down.

After we got home, Ben went around showing everyone his new lock.  When he showed it to Mike, Mike told him that he better be careful to write down his combinations or he would forget them.

Not long after that, Ben decide to change the code on the lock and then went outside to work. When he came in later, he grabbed his lock, set the numbers for the new code, and it wouldn't open!  What!  He tried again.  And again!  Ben was totally discouraged!  Here he had spent his hard earned money on a nice lock, that he now had no use for.  It was locked and it was going to stay that way! :(

At lunch, He told Mike his dilemma. They tried a bunch of combinations that were similar to what Ben thought the code was, but none of them worked.  Ben was sure the lock had malfunctioned!  He thought maybe we should return it. :)  Then Mike told him that there were only 10,000 different combinations to that lock, and that it would only take him about 5 hours to break the code. :)  Ben was more discouraged than ever!  He went back outside, but all he could think about all day was his lock.

That evening, after supper, everyone went out to do chores and Ben stayed in with me to help clean up.  As I was clearing the table, I noticed Ben wasn't helping.  He was sitting at the table, trying to open his lock.  So I went over and sat down with him.  I said, "Ben, do you know what we need to do?  We need to pray."  I said, "The Bible says that if we ask for wisdom, God will give it to us, and we need wisdom to figure out how to crack this code."  So we prayed.

About two minuets later, the lock popped open! :)  I figured out the code!  I was so excited!  I put my fist in the air and shouted triumphantly, "See Ben, God is ALWAYS the answer!"  He said, "Oh, thanks so much, Mom!".  I said, "Don't thank me!" :)

A few minutes later, Mike walked into the kitchen, and Ben and I were both grinning from ear to ear.  We told Mike the story.  So we concluded that there were two lessons to learn.

1.  Write down the combination!!
2.  Pray more!!

In my heart I quietly thanked the Lord for showing Himself strong to Ben.  Ben will NEVER forget that...and I doubt that he will forget to write down the combination either!! :)