The God Printer
My printer seems to be helping me discern the will of the Almighty. I’m not kidding. This is literally the second time my printer has protected me from trouble. Do you know how many times I have wanted to kick that damn thing?
Facts. I bought my printer in May 2020 and it’s a HP Printer scanner.
First time.
I was doing a favour for a family friend. God didn’t want me near it (read “you’re going to have problems when you get married”) So I had to download these bank statements, I have mobile banking so it should have been straightforward 10 seconds. Mobile banking started malfunctioning, giving me statements for the wrong year. So after 1 hour on the phone I went to Basingstoke the local town (2 hours) then I came home to scan these statements into my laptop to email them, and then… My printer refused. So I spent 2 hours with HP tech support. If the mobile banking being a problem wasn’t a clue, if the trip to Basingstoke wasn’t a clue. Then the printer taking 2 hours to do a 20 minute job really had me wondering if it was the will of God. I openly wondered. So when I sent these statements at 4:46pm to the mortgage broker. I was done.
Second time.
Next I’m at work. I am being bullied at work as I’m an accountant whose job it is to make sure rules are followed. So there was a scenario that involved my personal signature. I was able to print and sign the document just fine last week, but when it came to the final signatory. My printer refused. I called HP again, (luckily not 2 hours, more like 20 minutes) and they said 6-8 days. Thus discounting me from doing something that could have put me in harms way. Something I had literally stayed up all weekend with crippling anxiety because I was 100% sure it was a trap. I still know it’s a trap, but this time I’m not going to be the one to fall into it.
So this brings me to the topic of… discernment. Discerning the will of God if that is what you believe in. I currently follow Tony Gaskins for some light entertainment and background noise whilst working. He makes the easiest money in the world. He is a black man, telling black women who want to get married and not have sex before marriage to… Get married and not have sex before marriage. But he does it with his “weary soldier of God, touring the country and doing the work of God” as if God’s work was akin to shovelling snow. I have no hate for him, but I believe some of the things he says are unrealistic. Humans have got to human after all.
But I believe God calls everyone. I believe he doesn’t call us in the same way. But he calls us all to do the same thing. To love one another, to take care of the planet, to take no joy in another person’s pain. Therefore, sometimes it is best to listen.
They say God can come in 3 ways. In a whisper, in a red bus almost running you over, and then with a piano falling from the sky to crush you. God ultimately wants us to be safe, healthy, loved and loving. If you don’t believe in God, that’s fine. (remember my quote from Elizabeth the first not making window’s into men’s souls? ) Then serendipity wants you to be safe, healthy, loved and loving.
The final lesson here is, when you do recognise that God protected you from something, thank him for it.
Grace and Courage.
Annetta Mother Smith.