Matthew 16:19 - "I will give you the keys of the kingdom of heaven; whatever you bind on earth will be bound in heaven, and whatever you loose on earth will be loosed in heaven."

I thought I made it through this week with sufficient catharsis. It was my dad’s birthday and my family donated his flag to the cemetery in time for the Veterans Day flag display. But there was another plan for me this week. Three hours before the week ended, I lost my broken key.  

After that realization, two things happened at the same time. One, I steeled myself for a horrendously inconvenient night. Two, I walked to my dad’s old room, opened his top drawer and unzipped the blue “key” bag my dad kept there. Dad always had a contingency plan, then he made sure he was everyone else’s contingency. Therefore, he had all the spare keys to everyone’s car/home.

Still, I was sure he couldn’t possibly have it. I thought the 2nd key I had at home was the spare key. I was wrong and dad was right . . . again. From the beyond, my dad is still taking care of me. He is still my contingency. How long will this last, I wonder? How much longer can I rummage through my dad’s nooks and crannies and find the tools he left for me to find?

There might be a Word here. We all have broken keys we insist on using. They open doors, they kick-start chain reactions which propel us forward. But what doors are these? Was this door meant for us? If we are being propelled forward, is this the direction we were intended to go?

Our Father has a whole key, ahem, a holy key he has left for us to open doors and move us forward. He has not hidden it away. There is no secret message to decipher. He left it in plain sight where He knows we will find it. It is a key of truth which will guide us through doors of opportunity. It is the key to faith to move us in the Kingdom direction.

One day, I will have found all the gifts my dad left behind. Thankfully, we will never run out of special gifts to discover in the Father. Let’s keep our eyes open and trust in His righteousness. Our Father has left Holy Keys for us to find in plain sight. So let your engine roar and let your Kingdom journey unfold!

By: Carrie Handerson