I Wish..I Wish....

Do you think Aladdin had a difficult time determining what to wish for after he rubbed his lamp and the genie told him he had three wishes? What might you wish for? Think carefully now. If you got your wish, how would it impact your life? How many times do we wish for something and when we get it discover that that wasn't what we really wanted? Wishes are like coconuts, surrounded by a tough husk that has to be removed to get to the main nut and even then, that nut must be broken open to get to the milk and meat. Wishes most times are encased in a husk and a shell that require work to get at. If one wishes for a cat, for example, the actual wish might be for addressing loneliness. Some people wish for "things" and discover dissatisfaction shortly after acquiring them. Perhaps what they really want is self worth. Getting to the motivation and core reason for a particular wish may be quite a challenge, but in order to be satisfied with your wish it is essential.

Another thing to think about when wishing is the principle of cause and effect. Just like going back in a time machine, we would be warned to be careful not to change history. If you get your wish, how will it affect your life, relationships, job, and attitude? If Jim wished to be rich, (a common wish) would he no longer want to associate with his current friends, become snobbish, and/or change his life in such a degree that he has lost sight of what he used to believe in? Might he discover that he has grounded his life in what he has, instead of who he is?

I'm thinking that determining one wish could be difficult, let alone three. I can certainly better understand why God doesn't answer all our prayers the way we think He should. He can see down to the "milk and meat" of what we really need/want and sometimes getting that involves what seems to be a circuitous route. There are so many variables that may impact even a seemingly harmless wish.

I wish...I wish... What DO I wish? If I analyze the motivation behind my wish and consider the cause and effect of that wish, I will certainly be more careful in my wishing. I suppose I could give my wish to others, but even then, how might it affect them? If all wishes were taken away, would that eliminate hope? Perhaps expressing my wishes and hopes to God and trusting Him to "sort them out" might be the way to go.