#26 Learn to tie a tie

“If you build it, they will come.”

Do you remember this line from the1989 film, Field of Dreams? Kevin Costner heard a voice whispering these words. If he built a baseball field, famous (dead) baseball players from the past would come play with him.

Well, I applied this to my own life and learned how to tie a men’s neck tie.

“If you tie it, he will come…”

Some might call this a self fulfilling prophecy. Oprah would call it “The Secret”. I consider it living in hope, and moving with faith.

I want a have a husband. The bible tells me that this desire is from the Lord. Psalm 37:4 says, “Delight yourself in the Lord, and He will give you the desires of your heart”. Would he put this desire in my heart if he didn’t plan on bringing it to fruition? I don’t believe so. Does my faith falter from time to time? Absolutely. I’m human.

So how do I handle these dry spells in my faith? What do I do when my hope begins to waver?

I cry…although this doesn’t usually help.
I remember God’s promises. (The Bible is chock-full of them - check it out)
I have friends who hope for me when I can’t for myself.
And I tie ties.

I found a website called tie-a-tie.net. It’s a website devoted to teaching the masses to tie ties. I found a knot that looked pretty standard and a nice Norwegian (that‘s an educated guess) man walked me through tying a Windsor knot while piano music gently wafted through my computer‘s speakers. Along with the video were sequential illustrations of each step, which were greatly appreciated because I had to tie about 10 knots before I was satisfied and the combination of the Norwegian accent and the piano music got a little irksome. By the tenth time, I was satisfied with the knot.

                                                      My Windsor Knot

I didn’t just learn to tie a tie because I think it’s a useful skill to have and I want my future husband to be well-kempt. I did it to demonstrate (to myself) the hope I have that someday, I will have a husband whose tie I can tie.

My friend Trin told me a story she heard about a woman who prayed with expectancy. There was a town somewhere in the south that was experiencing a drought.  The situation was getting pretty desperate. The church decided to hold a prayer meeting to pray for rain. When everyone arrived for the prayer meeting, they looked out the window to see an old woman from their congregation walking up the road in her rain slicker, her rain boots, and holding an umbrella. This woman was praying with expectancy….she believed that her prayers would be answered…and she prepared for it. As they held their prayer meeting that day, rain began to fall from the heavens. Everyone ran outside to roll up the car windows they’d left down…everyone but the old woman who’d come trusting that God was going to answer their prayers.

I’m not wearing rain gear, I learned to tie a tie.

“Now faith is being sure of what we hope for

and certain of what we do not see.” Hebrews 11:1