Christian Living

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When The Fries Are Down...Why Did He Do That?
(c) 2005
by

Stephen A. Peterson


A pretty 19 year old Sophia Licavoli was having one of those days. She was feeling the pressures of her psychology class. On Friday, she had a term paper due. She had not started now it was Wednesday. Her sorority had a social activity scheduled for Wednesday evening and her computer was broke. She went over to the library on campus to check out a journal needed for her paper only to learn that another student still had it in their possession. Sophia swung by the supermarket to pick up a few things and the lines by each checkout register were backed up. By the time she returned to the sorority house, she had missed dinner. Deciding on beef stew and French bread, she went to a drawer to get a can opener. Cranking the can opener on the can, she found that it would not open the can. The teeth of the can opener were worn.

Setting the can aside, Sophia went to plan B which was whatever was left over in the refrigerator. She grabbed a plastic container from the refrigerator, took a look and groaned. Her sorority sisters, as a group, aren’t picky eaters but even they won’t eat food that has blue-green furry looking “whatever” on the macaroni and cheese. Really frustrated now, Sophia decided to look for something else.

“That’s it!”, she said. “I’ll have Polish sausage and French fries. Taking out the plastic bag out of the refrigerator, Sophia just knew that this was going to be a good meal. “Maybe a little on the junk side but what the heck!” she though. Initially, the bag appeared easy to open. The bag, being full of air, budged leaving the corner to stick out like four little hands. Sophia attempted to open it—nothing. Sophia took a deep breath, doubled her efforts but it still would not open. She tried again—nothing. Angry she struggled with the plastic bag until the cold, stubborn bag slipped out of her hands like it had been launched from a rocket pad. The bag flew sky high. When it landed, the bag produced a loud pop spreading French fries everywhere!

It was the final straw. Sophia let out a high pitched scream, “I just can’t take it anymore!” Within seconds, Theresa Ross, the sorority housemother, was in the kitchen where she surveyed the damage—French fries all over the floor. The sorority housemother did the most unusual but helpful thing she could think of at the moment. This forty something year old woman took a flying leap, landing flat-footed onto the largest pile of French fries. With her thick pair of running shoes, she began to stomp, kick and war hoop into the French fries. Sophia looked with utter amazement. Within a few second, Sophia smiled through her tears of frustration.

Eventually, Sophia had to laugh. Finally, Sophia decided to join the housemother. She took a flying leap into the remaining pile of French fries. She, likewise, began to dance and laugh.

Sophia had to admit that the housemother’s response wasn’t the one she had expected a forty some year old woman to do. However, her sense of humor, in a frustrating situation was what Sophia needed. Every living man, woman and child has at many times in their lives has gone through periods of frustration, doubt and outright anger at times. Many of us cry out for help hoping that God will come help us as WE believe He should. Yet He comes in the most unusual way to clean up the messes WE have made. In fact, the Lord stomps on our messes answering our prayer in a manner completely different from what WE believe because WE DO NOT understand what sin is and how it hurts God.

To this day, the majority of people, even Christian believers, are awed by the suffering and death of Jesus Christ and His willingness to accept the Cross, an extremely painful form of torture and death to reconcile God to humankind. The human response is: “Why? Couldn’t there be another way? Christ’s crucifixion makes no sense. This doesn’t make any sense to me!” Humankind does not nor can it understand God’s unconditional love for humanity—even in the 21st century!!!

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