The Controller - Installment #12 in which Mork frolics in gleeful anticipation

That evening Allen decides to walk through his house as if he is seeing it for the first time. He sees the worn and shabby furniture. He sees the pictures on the wall that haven't been changed since he was a child. He sees the layers of dust which have settled after Melanie moved out. Where did that girl put the duster? Regardless, Allen knows the place needs more than a good dusting. 

Allen books a holiday-week to purge his house. He cleans and sorts, chucking things he doesn't use and replacing things he considers tired or tacky or just plain worn-out like his mattress and bed coverings. By the end of the week, the house is a different place although he still hasn't done anything about the wallpaper....  

“Now what?” he prays.

This is a picture of what I am doing in your heart.

Allen tours his home once again, this time asking God about his heart. In the master bedroom he allows himself to fall into the luxurious new pillow-top mattress on the king-size bed he inherited from his grandparents. Allen wants to stay here forever. 

Rest in me. 

After several minutes, he reluctantly gets up and heads toward the upstairs bath where he admires his new shower curtain and the freshly painted walls. He thinks briefly about the Jacuzzi Shirley had mentioned. That would mean tearing a wall out and giving up a spare bedroom.

Your sins are washed away. 

Downstairs in the living room where he has eliminated chunky side tables, along with several extraneous chairs, and three ancient lamps, he sees that his remaining furniture has to be rearranged. The way it is, the large-screen TV has become the main focus. This won't do. He shoves a few things around until the room is centred on the brick fireplace crafted by his grandfather.  

I am your centre.

The dining room looks good. Allen thinks he should use this room more often. He remembers the days gone by and special family dinners when they all gathered round the large oak table laughing and feasting on his mother's roasted chicken with mashed potatoes and three kinds of vegetables. Those were the days. These days, he mostly stands at the kitchen counter eating out of the pots. 

I am the bread of life. Feast with me.

When he gets to the kitchen Allen knows he has to remodel. The the cupboards are decrepit and the drawers stick. Surely, he can afford a new kitchen.   

I am making all things new. My ways are higher than your ways. 

Allen feels convicted. “God your ways are higher than my ways. What do you want me to do? Anything, Lord...I'll do it.” 

Sunday morning the spirit of God impresses upon Allen to attend Powerhouse. He groans. The conviction to do whatever the Lord asks is not quite so strong this morning. 

I have an assignment for you.

“God help me.” 

By the time he crosses the threshold at  Powerhouse, the service is already going strong. Pastor John is in the midst of delivering a mini-sermon on the joy and rewards of giving. “You can’t out-give God. The windows of heaven are set to pour blessings into your life. All you have to do is tell God you are ready to receive. Tell him by giving. The more you give, the more you get. It is a law of nature.”

Allen, who had found a place in one of the back rows, lets the collection plate slip past.

When the worship music begins he sees Melanie near the front with her hands raised. Despite everything else, he wishes he could worship that freely. Nobody was demonstrative in his denominational church.

I’m asking you to change churches.

Lord please don’t ask me that. I don't like this place.

Only for a season. They need you here.

Allen’s heart is in turmoil. He prays in tongues under his breath. 

Mork on the other hand is flying around the church in gleeful anticipation. What an assignment. right in the heart of enemy territory.

Allen's misses most of the rest of the service. He leaves during the benediction in which Pastor John tells his flock to go out and be blessed.