Posts Tagged "trust"

It’s times like this I’m grateful for a poor sense of smell. There it was, sitting in the middle of the grass, an armadillo carcass interrupting the serenity of my morning walk.  I didn’t know what killed it, how long it had been there or how long it would be before someone or something removed the remains.  I was, however, pretty sure of one thing. The armadillo never expected its armor to fail. I’m sure it thought (however armadillos actually “think”) that it would be protected inside its little shell.  I’m sure it thought that whatever crisis came its way, it could retreat into the safety of the solution that had protected it so many times before.  I’m sure it thought, “it could never happen to...

The white metal sign looked so lonely, its faded yellow trim standing out in a field of brittle grass and flowing weeds. Once upon a time it had been an important warning marker to approaching boats.  At some point in the past it had served a purpose, had helped travelers avoid danger by not letting them float too close to the jetty that would likely bring their boat to a bitter end. But that was a long time ago. Now the sign was abandoned and irrelevant.  The world had moved on, leaving only echoes and memory of a past when the sign served a purpose.  To pay attention to it now would just be silly, because the danger of which it warned had long since passed. Sometimes we live our lives like that. Once upon a time we set up walls and gates to protect our...

  Four minutes in, I discovered the truth: small children are terrible at picking strawberries. There we were, two families with kids and a single guy, exploring a “U-Pick” strawberry patch on a sunny Sunday afternoon.  The air was cool and dry and the sky was clear with a bright sun overhead, streaming down on fields of ripe, red, ready-to-eat strawberries just waiting to be picked. Then there they went, the two-year-old and the six-year-old, ready to try their hand at field work and eager to fill their buckets with the juicy delights of (almost) spring. The older one did great.  Her six-year-old eyes quickly distinguished the good fruit from the bad, and her nimble fingers had no trouble separating stem from stalk.  The younger one…...

It’s hard for a two-year-old to stay in the boundaries. “I will run in the way of your commandments, when you enlarge my heart!” -Psalm 119:32 There they were, my godson and his friend, two little boys running ’round in the fresh-cut grass with a solid blue sky overhead.  As the sun slowly set behind the house, the kids were laughing and playing, chasing and tackling one another… and getting steadily closer to the edge of the lake. “Boys,” said daddy, “you can play in the yard but don’t go past the shadow.” It was a good idea, one that would give them plenty of room to maneuver but keep them away from danger.  It wasn’t a small yard and the boundary gave them lots of space to play. But they...

Do you ever worry that you’re not getting enough done? “Unless the LORD builds the house, those who build it labor in vain. Unless the LORD watches over the city, the watchman stays awake in vain.  It is in vain that you rise up early and go late to rest, eating the bread of anxious toil; for he gives to his beloved sleep.” -Psalm 127:1-2 Are you anxious?  Weary?  Worn down from feeling like the weight of the world rests on you and your ability to achieve results?  STOP IT! In this Psalm of Solomon is the reminder that anxious overwork will not bring the fulfillment and peace you imagine.  On the contrary, it is futility to think and act as if your destiny is wholly yours to command.  Your loving Father wants to free you from...