Perspective/ Pastor’s Corner

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Like everybody else, I face problems almost every day. Or maybe I should say, my problem faces me.

Every Monday, when I get up, I say to myself, “How many problems will I have this week? How many will I solve?” Unfortunately, myself never replies back.

Problems are part of life, but it’s tough for me to get used to problems. Every time I almost solve one problem, two or three new ones pop up. There are times when I hesitate to get up on a Monday morning.

Recently, I discovered something related to my problems. No matter my problems or where they come from, I have discovered that a bowl of ice cream solves most of them.

This is a recent discovery for me. I only wish I would’ve known it 50 years ago. Since I know it now, I will use it for my benefit. The more problems I have, the more ice cream I need.

Discovering that ice cream is my comfort food has really made a lot of difference in my life. And it has taken me quite a while to get The Gracious Mistress of the Parsonage to understand this about me.

She knows much about me, even more than I know about myself. But this one thing about ice cream is relatively new, and she hesitates to acknowledge it.

Whenever a problem pops up, I usually get frustrated and bent out of shape trying to figure out how to deal with it. Sometimes I do figure it out, but more often, I do not. Then I discovered something that has changed my attitude for all time.

That discovery is that ice cream is a way of helping me deal with a problem that I might have. Oh boy, this has been a learning curve for me.

I discovered this not too long ago when I faced a problem I just didn’t know how to take. I was driving down the street when I noticed a relatively new ice cream store on my right side. Looking at it, I thought to myself, “What will it hurt if I stop and have some ice cream?”

I pulled into the parking lot, walked over, entered the store, and ordered some ice cream. I looked at the menu for a while to order the right ice cream. I saw some mint chocolate chip ice cream on the menu. I haven’t had mint chocolate chip ice cream, for I can’t remember how long. So I ordered it, took it to the table, sat down, and began working on it.

I was only three bites in when it finally occurred to me that I wasn’t even thinking about my problem at that time. All I was thinking about was how delicious this ice cream was. This mint chocolate chip ice cream was so delicious I couldn’t think of anything else.

When I finished my mint chocolate chip ice cream dish, I couldn’t remember my problem.

Unfortunately, when I got in my car and started driving away, the problem finally came back to me. But when it did, it didn’t seem as serious as it did before the ice cream. Something had happened.

It’s not every day that I learn something new about myself, but this was one of those days.

I don’t know how many kinds of ice cream there are, but I have worked it out so that every problem I face is associated with some flavor of ice cream.

The harder the problem, the darker the ice cream. If I have vanilla ice cream, that means I have a very easy problem to solve. But if I have a really difficult problem, I must have chocolate fudge ice cream.

When I got home that evening, I updated The Gracious Mistress of the Parsonage on my discovery.

“Guess what I learned about myself today,” I said with a big smile.

Looking at me, she said, “I give up; what did you learn about yourself today that I don’t already know?”

Clearing my throat, I said, “I have learned that I need ice cream to deal with any problem that comes my way.”

“Well,” she said sarcastically, “that’s one good excuse to get your ice cream.”

“Oh, no,” I said enthusiastically, “I really mean that ice cream helps me solve my problems.”

I tried to explain to her that every flavor of ice cream helps me solve a particular problem. I’m not sure she believed me, but I was going to prove that that was true.

Later that evening, after supper, we watched TV in the living room, and then she went out into the kitchen. When she returned, she had a bowl of chocolate fudge ice cream, and looking at me, she said, “I’m not sure if this is chocolatey enough to fix your problem tonight.”

Munching on my ice cream I thought of a Bible verse. Philippians 4:6-7, “Be careful for nothing; but in every thing by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known unto God. And the peace of God, which passeth all understanding, shall keep your hearts and minds through Christ Jesus.”

Nobody can live without problems. That’s just life. But, as a Christian, I have a special resource called prayer. My prayer connects me with God’s peace “which passeth all understanding.”

There is no problem that in anyway compromises God’s peace that He has for me.

Rev. James L. Snyder

Ocala, Fla.

Dr. James L. Snyder lives in Ocala, Fla. where he lives with his wife. Call him at (352) 216-3025 or email jamessnyder2@att.net. His website is www.jamessnyderministries.com.