The Parable of the Locked Key(s)

The Parable of the Locked Key(s)
Wednesday, November 6, 2024 by Susan Lyttek

I think I’m done, at least as direct intent, with memories and dreams for a while. This month will lean towards ideas of thankfulness and December will have an Advent focus.

That said, events at the end of last week, November 1st to be exact, absolutely required to be told.

Gary and I spent most of last week in Knoxville, Tennessee. We had a great time. Because of our hotel’s proximity to it, we were able to walk around the World’s Fair Park, go up in the Sun Sphere, pose in front of the giant Rubik’s cube, and in general reminisce about our trip to the World’s Fair in 1982. We had been only dating at the time, but were pretty serious about each other. (We became engaged at the end of 1982.)

In addition to getting some writing done, I saw everything on my must-see list and even got to spend time with Aunt Joan. Then, on Wednesday night, Gary and his cousin, Kim, joined us for dinner. (Forgot to take that picture!) All in all, a great trip with uneventful flights in both directions.

When Uber deposited us at home, however, things became a bit disconcerting.

We had assumed based on an earlier discussion, that our son would be at home, teleworking that day. But his car was gone. And Gary’s parents, my lovely in-laws, weren’t home either.

That presented a bit of a problem since our keys, my set and Gary’s set, were securely locked within the house.

Not quite willing to give up yet, I entered the code for our garage door. Maybe we could get inside that way. Since the code most definitely worked, we made it into the garage. Unfortunately, our family default of automatically turning the deadbolt was in operational order. The door between the garage and our home was securely fastened, keeping us on the outside.

Thankfully, Friday was a lovely day. Sunny, low 80s, pleasant breeze. We put our suitcase and carry-ons in the garage and began to do things to keep ourselves busy. Gary swept the porch, watered the plants, and mowed the side yard. I emptied the recycle box into the full-sized bin at the back of the house and then began to rake leaves. None of what we were doing was urgent, but things that needed doing at some point and since we were there…

Thus, we kept busy until Gene and Gracie got home.

The whole experience made me think of Jesus’ account of the bridesmaids and the wedding feast in Matthew 25. All ten had the key to attending: a lit lamp. They only needed sufficient oil in their lamps to last until the bridegroom returned. The foolish ones knew this, but they underestimated the time that would elapse. Like Gary and I imagined people would be home when we returned, they thought they would only need a small amount of oil, a miniscule investment in time and circumstances to be included. But they needed to be “all-in”; in order to attend the feast, the foolish maids had to put their interest in being included over their comfort. Sleeping when their oil began to run low wasn’t wise.

And though we definitely don’t need our car keys when we fly out of town, the next time we travel I will put a house key in my wallet.

For while I am grateful that we eventually were let in, that it wasn’t bad weather, and that neither of us had an urgent need for the bathroom during our wait, locked out life could have been so much worse.

And like the wise bridesmaids, I don’t want to go there.

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