Comments on: Mr. Fix-it

By: Nick the Geek

Nick the Geek — Thu, 11 Feb 2010 23:24:30 +0000

Yeah it is a lesson I constantly forget and then get angry about because my efforts seem to fall flat. God is good enough to keep giving me mercy though.

By: Nick the Geek

Nick the Geek — Thu, 11 Feb 2010 23:23:43 +0000

Thanks, yeah it is a real struggle for me. I keep trying to be God to people, well I keep trying to do the things God is supposed to do which is that same thing and pretty prideful. Oops.

By: Nick the Geek

Nick the Geek — Thu, 11 Feb 2010 23:22:33 +0000

yeah and I still don’t like the idea of a neti pot, but I did see the dentist and get the actual problem resolved so far as I can tell. This year hasn’t been one long sinus infection at least.

By: Nick the Geek

Nick the Geek — Thu, 11 Feb 2010 23:20:19 +0000

Thanks, I share your frustration and I pay for most of my kids every day. I even pray for a lot of the ones I’ve only met once or twice and don’t know their names. I’m very visual so I remember their faces and stuff. Kinda weird I guess praying to God for that boy that came that was wearing that jacket with the frayed tassels (btw this is not an actual description) but I figure He knows who I’m talking about.

By: Nick the Geek

Nick the Geek — Thu, 11 Feb 2010 23:13:56 +0000

I tend to be the person that starts working on things before consulting God. I felt convicted about it to the point that I try to pray about everything I do even if it seems like a small thing. I am working against a lifetime of habit so I’m not always successful, but I read about Israel going to battle without consulting God first and things going really bad even if it looks good for them before the battle on paper.

By: Sherry Meneley

Sherry Meneley — Thu, 11 Feb 2010 21:54:03 +0000

Great story and segue into such an obvious comparison.
Sometimes during our Small Group prayer time, I have to stop others from trying to resolve the prayer requesters issue/problem. I’ve tried to point out that in our talking about the problem and coming up with a plethora of solutions prior to prayer that we are demonstrating to God that we are going to try and solve this on our own: AKA: we don’t give God the first right to fix this issue in His way.
I’ve even been so bold as to say, “why do we even need to pray if we are going to fix this ourselves?” (clearly those are the nights I get a little frustrated and over vocal, not my finer moments)
Personally – I think God is asking me to focus on prayer, faith, and trust. Seems simple, but has felt overwhelming.

By: Helen

Helen — Thu, 11 Feb 2010 14:46:41 +0000

Great post, Nick.
I had the same need to make things all better when I was teaching. There are lots of angry children out there, who have reason to be angry. I had to constantly put their situation before God. Sometimes I saw the result of my prayers. Sometimes I didn’t.
But I never stopped getting frustrated at seeing them hurt. That doesn’t go away. Sorry.

By: Candy

Candy — Thu, 11 Feb 2010 14:23:10 +0000

Most nurses feel the same way – they want to fix people, but in a different way that you do (sorta). I get so frustrated when people take poor care of themselves and end up in my care, only to return again in a year or two for the exact same reason. I’m gradually learning I just can’t make choices for them, but it’s taken me a very long time. I can’t make them eat right, I can’t make them stop smoking any more than I can get you to use a NetiPot. The only thing I can do is pray for them. Pray that something that I say “sticks” (and often it does, praise God). That’s how God has “fixed” me in a small part of my life – by being more accepting, making me a little wiser, and giving me an awareness that I must practice what I preach and wield a gentle hand in my attempted “fixes.” After all, I’m not the boss of them, but I can certainly pray to the One who is.

By: Ryan Tate

Ryan Tate — Thu, 11 Feb 2010 13:43:36 +0000

Great honesty here. Thank you. A constant reminder that I need is that I don’t have to be capable of everything.

By: katdish

katdish — Thu, 11 Feb 2010 13:41:13 +0000

It is a hard lesson to learn. Not just in these situations but in everything. It’s about surrendering control and admitting that we can’t fix people. We can’t even fix ourselves. We just have to do what we can to allow God to be the fixer. Still frustrating, though.