Hanging Chavs

A few American elections ago, claims and counterclaims swirled round the issue of the hanging chavs: those little slivers of card which required complete removal by the voter through the use of a pin. Sometimes the perforations were not so effective and the voter perhaps did not realise that a sliver of card clung on – a hanging chav. The Florida count was close and it was asserted that Al Gore would have carried the state if the ballot papers which were rejected because the hanging chavs could not be processed by the computer had, in fact, been counted. 

The allegations continued but the decision was final. George W moved into the White House, but perhaps his presidency got off to a shaky start because the issue of the hanging chavs was not quite resolved.

Resolution. It seems that in life, most of us crave resolution of problems and issues when in fact, we have to live with hanging chavs. There are problems which crop up for which there seems to be no clear cut solution. There are recurring issues which seem to be sorted and then, just aren’t. Hanging chavs.

I don’t know about you but I know that I often cry out to God to sweep away the hanging chavs. I want things to be neat and tidy with no uncertainties and plain sailing ahead. But life is not like that. To wish for there to be no more hanging chavs is to wish life itself away. 

I’m not too good at dealing with the hanging chavs, though. They are what keep me awake some nights – like tonight, when I’ve been wrestling with a couple of unforeseen problems. 

Someone had a prayer picture for me the other night, in which I was struggling to carry a huge heavy weight. God invited me to cut the rope by which I was carrying it, and leave it with him.

I find I need his help to even do that. But I’m asking and expecting his help in doing just that, so that I can live light in life, full of joy and anticipation, regardless of any hanging chavs. I pray the same blessing for you.