Holy Moley!

God has not given us a spirit of fear but of power, love and a sound mind.” 2 Timothy 1:7

It was January of 2004, and it was a day to remember.  On that day, as a gift from a friend, I received my first flat panel television.  Of course, back then it was brand new technology, and they were a little different.  This one was about three inches thick and weighted about seventy pounds.  I still keep it stored away simply because it is so special.  Over the years, things have changed and that is true with televisions too.  Thankfully, they have gone on a diet.  Today, a larger television weighs less than half of the earlier models.  Regardless, it can still be a little tricky to hang one on the wall…especially if you are “tool” challenged. Let me explain.

A while back I was going to attempt to mount a television on our bedroom wall.  I mean, it seemed easy enough.  You take the television off the other wall, take the mount off the other wall, and go to the new wall.  You drill a couple of holes and mount the mount.  “That’s easy,” I said.  “That’s no problem,” I said.  “Anybody can do that,” I said.  “In fact,” I said, “a blind man could do it.” About then discovered my name wasn’t “anybody” and I wasn’t blind.

Our house is old, and I do mean old.  How old?  Well, Miss Alice’s house next door was built in 1902, and she said when her house was being built ours was already there.  That means our house is at least 119 years old—holy moley—that is old.  At any rate that means there must be some plaster walls and there are.  There is a reason why someone invented sheetrock and the reason is no one likes plaster walls.  They are a pain. They easily crack. They are difficult to drill through and oh, a stud finder doesn’t work and if you are going to mount a television…you need to find the studs in the wall.

I started searching for the elusive stud in the wall.  I tapped on the wall, I laid hands on the wall, I talked to the walI, but all to no avail.  I then called a friend of mine and he said to start drilling holes till you find a stud.  I was paralyzed—I could just imagine my wall having a religious experience and becoming very holey. But anyway, I started drilling.

Well, five holes later (we need to hum a few bars of, “holy, holy, holy”) I finally found a stud and amazingly when I found one, I could find the next.  As I screwed the bolts into the wall, I said a prayer and put the television on the mount.  It worked.  And, believe it or not, it is still there today.  I just hope that no one looks behind the television and sees all the “oops!” If you should ever hear a loud moan from over Poplar Street way, well it might be that things went south after all.

One of the things I learned (again) through all of this is how fear can paralyze us.  I mean I stood there and looked and studied (no pun intended) and looked and studied…trying to get the courage to start drilling. I was afraid that I might end up drilling hole after hole after hole and have Swiss cheese instead of a wall.  I was afraid and so for a while I did nothing.  When I finally decided that I could and should…it gave me the courage to start and finish my project.

If you find yourself facing a difficult task, if you find yourself overwhelmed with fear—find someone to give you a little encouragement. Sometimes that might come in the form of flesh and bones, but it can come without either—it just might come from God and from His Word.  When you find yourself in the grip of fear, remember 2 Timothy 1:7, “God has not given us a spirit of fear but of power, love and a sound mind.”  And always remember that regardless of what we face, we can have the confident assurance that, “He’s got this.”