The Menu

The Menu
Carol Condon
carolcondon5@aol.com


For some reason every time we walked in we were escorted to the back and seated at the secluded table along the wall away from everyone. At first we thought we were getting preferential treatment; however, we soon realized that when they saw the six of us walking in they didn’t want to take a risk and seat us among the many guests already dining in case we were too much of a distraction.

The first thing needing to be settled was who gets to sit where. That was a job all in itself. Once that was finalized we all became engrossed in reading the menu. The entrées were listed along with the sides that could be chosen to accompany the main dish. Mentally we made our selections according to each one of our preferences. As our waiter listened patiently to each one of us he recorded our choices.

Mark didn’t just want a side salad. He wanted a side salad without tomatoes and cucumbers. Jared wanted to make sure his side salad had cheese added. Chase requested that his grilled chicken sandwich was plain and without mayonnaise. Miquel wanted to substitute rice in place of the refried beans and Bryce and I added our own touches to the meals that we ordered. I was sighing in relief that I didn’t have to make all these substitutions in my own kitchen. As long as the chef followed the order correctly we would soon be enjoying our meal that we directed according to our own personal tastes.

How often to we come to the Lord holding our menu and stating our personalized order. We enter the prayer closet all ready for Him to record our preferences. We would like a new home, but not just any home in any neighborhood. Our budget needs assistance, Lord, but we need it to be like this, and we go on to explain just how we would like it done. The lonely single is now ready to place an order. “Lord, I have done most of my single wish list and now I am ready for marriage. I prefer someone in the 6 figures, tall, never forgets to put the lid on the toothpaste…..” We then begin looking for “our order.” Do we actually miss what He has for us because we only have our eyes searching for what we want? Let’s set the menu aside and allow him to order our steps.

Psalm 37:23 KJV
The steps of a good man are ordered by the LORD: and he delighteth in his way.