Peace in the Bizarre

It was my mom’s birthday, and my mom, sister, and I were entering a small salon where we would get manicures to celebrate. When we arrived at the front desk, a short Asian man with spiky hair came towards me. “You ready?” he asked in a clipped accent. I sat at the table while he finished setting up.

He began by rubbing the surfaces of my nails vigorously with a sandpaper board. I was getting worried at the scratch marks appearing on my nails. “Is that good for them?”

“No.” He answered matter-of-factly.

“Umm, are you sure you should be doing it then?”

“No.” He paused for a second to look at me, and then went back to work.

“Okay…” I glanced over at my sister where she was waiting. She shot me an alarmed look.

The man transitioned to trimming my cuticles. To get my mind off the sharp object in his hand, I tried to make conversation.  “So, how long have you been working here?”

“This my first day.”

“Oh, okay…so what did you do before this?”

“Nothing. Just this.”

My attempts at conversation were failing. I saw his work license on the side of the workstation. “How do you pronounce your name?” I asked curiously.

“Oh, that not my license. That is picture of twin brother. I’m filling in for him today.”

“I see.”

Then I looked down at my fingernails. Three of the nails had red marks where blood was oozing from the cuticles. “They’re bleeding!” I exclaimed.

“Oh, that nothing.” He grinned mischievously. “This morning I was giving pedicure and lady moved just like you doing. Almost cut off my finger.” He showed me a bandage on the end of his finger and peeled it up so I could see the ugly wound underneath. “Poor lady, she didn’t come out so good. You should have seen it.” He made an ominous gesture with his hands.

This is a humorous (but true!) example of one of the bizarre circumstances that can enter our lives every day. Maybe the circumstance in your life is just as bizarre but not nearly as humorous. Maybe you are still trying to convince yourself that your parents really are getting a divorce.

I have good news for you: there is a way for you to have peace even in the middle of your most difficult trials. Isaiah 26:3 says, “You keep him in perfect peace whose mind is stayed on you, because he trusts in you.” When your mind is on God, all your troubles dwindle in comparison to His all-consuming nature.

What trials are you trusting God through today? How are you working to keep your thoughts on Him?

P.S. – Visit next week to hear about the rest of this manicure visit!