"His ears are attentive to their prayers"
1 Peter 3:12
Have you ever been so frustrated with a company ~ their service or their product ~ that you complain? I mean, not just whine to your friends, but actually sit down and let the company know what you think? Mostly, I think we'd prefer to just whine to our friends. It's so much easier. And somehow, more satisfying. But it's not going to accomplish anything. It's not going to bring about change.
I'm currently dissatisfied with the service I've been getting from a corporate bookstore. There's not just one, but two things I wish they would do differently. But I'd have to look up the address, and the name of the CEO, or VP of Customer Service or whatever. And then I'd have to sit down and give my brain over to the task of crafting the words to let him know how I feel.
Soo much work. And too many things fighting for attention in my daily life.
I also am very unhappy with the quality of a watch that I got a few years ago for Christmas. It was a gift from the Apple of my Eye. It's a fairly pricey store, and I would have been happy with something less expensive, but it was Christmas, so he splurged. And I love it. It's the style I wanted, it's lovely for when I'm dressed up, and best of all, the band is reversible. Just a little pull, and twist, and it goes from black to brown. Isn't that a neat detail? But within two months, a piece fell off. I took it back to the store, and they said they'd have it fixed. If it had happened within one month, they would have just replaced it, but since it was two months, I had to give it to them. Oh fine. And as long as I was having a piece repaired, I asked them to tighten it on the top, because when I did the nifty little pull and twist thing to change it from black to brown, it felt too loose. And then it took eight weeks for them to fix it. Eight weeks! Did they have to send it out? Like, to Mars?? And, when I got it back, they had fixed that piece, but they had not tightened it like I had asked. She offered to send it back, for another eight weeks, but I said no thanks, I'd just live with it.
And I've been living with it just fine for a couple of years. I still think it's lovely. But would you believe, even though the watch is only two years old, another piece has fallen off? It's disappointing to know that my sweet Hubby spent a little extra to get me a nice watch, and the quality does not match the prices they are charging. So I'd like to write the company and tell them how displeased I am with the craftsmanship of their products.
But I haven't. Again, it seems like a lot of work, and worse, I'm not even sure it will matter. Would the letter even get to anyone that matters? And more important: would the recipient even care? I'm just one person, and they already have my money, although it's fair to say they'll probably not get any more of my money. What incentive do they have to pay attention to what I think? That's probably the reason I haven't taken the time to write to them.
And all of that is combining to make me very, very grateful that God listens. I am thankful that He has made a way for us to communicate with Him, and thankful that He cares. He delights to hear from us, and as James said, the prayers of a righteous man (or woman) are effective. Our thoughts and desires, even our complaints and frustrations, matter to Him. Whether we get our way or not, there is such joy in being heard. Oh, how I love being loved by Him!
~ "the four living creatures
and the twenty-four elders
fell down before the Lamb.
Each one had a harp, and they were holding
golden bowls full of incense,
which are the prayers of God's people." ~
Revelation 5:8
No comments:
Post a Comment