I’m thinking of taking up a collection on my street today. But it’s probably not the collection that you are thinking I might take.

I need some screws. I’ve scoured my stash, I don’t have the right ones, and any hope of getting them from a hardware store has diminished drastically.

I think I might have a better chance of getting the screws I need from one of my neighbours.

If I could just get them to spread out all their screws on their work benches, I could look through them and find the ones I need.

I really only need four screws. 

… I remember when I was a kid and spent every Saturday with my family at my dad’s convenience store. My brother and I had noticed that my dad was selling trading cards – Man from Uncle trading cards to be specific. 

In 1965 these cards were hot. Every kid wanted them, and my dad had them in his store before the stores in our neighbourhood did. My brother and I craved these cards so much that we swiped a handful each. 

When a kid came in to purchase some packs of cards, there weren’t any there. My mom was no dummy though; she knew right where to find them. 

When she caught up to John and I, we were sifting through our cards. Our mouths full of the gum that came in the packs. All she said to us was, “Spread your collection out, boys”.

Then she told the kid to pick the cards he wanted. 

If I could just get my neighbours to show me all their screws, I could probably find the four that I need. It would be much faster than getting anything from the hardware store these days. 

Last week I went online and ordered two different sizes of screws, just in case one was the wrong size. 

It was five days later before I got my hands on those screws. And when I got them home, I discovered that I was way off on my sizing.  

Neither size worked. 

The frustration of being in the middle of a project and finally getting all the parts I needed, only to discover one part was not going to work … well, you can imagine how I felt. 

At that point I couldn’t bear trying again with the hardware store and waiting another five days for the right screws. 

I just thought that somewhere in some can or cubby the very screws that I need might be lying in amongst dozens of random-sized screws. 

If I don’t take up a collection on my street, I only have two options: one is to wait until the stores are open in three weeks. The other is to get back on my computer and choose a different hardware store this time … maybe one that could get me some screws in less than a week!

Somehow, before I decide on either of those options, I better know for certain what size screws I need. 

I can’t go through this again. 

Here’s the thing: We all live life with an expectation of what will happen at the end. Some people will find out that the end is very different than what they had expected, and they will be stuck with an ending that they did not want. To be sure your ending will match your expectation, make sure your faith is placed in Jesus Christ. Then you will be guaranteed the right outcome. 

That’s Life!

Paul

Question: What has not turned out the way you expected? Leave your comments and questions below. 

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