Lessons from the Mold

Ok, this time of year brings out the deepest desire in me to be able to produce a lawn that is nice.  And for me, that is a high goal.  It doesn't have to be  beautiful.  It doesn't have to be the best in the neighborhood.  I just don't want to be embarrassed.  My gardening skills are, to put it nicely, lacking.  I try.  I just don't seem to have that green thumb gifting.  So, I think the Lord, in His mercy, shows me things from time to time while I'm working in the yard, so that my time invested there isn't completely in vain.  

I was clearing out the leaves that had accumulated along a bed where a row of hostas grow in our back yard.  As I raked out the leaves that had settled there over last winter, I also raked away last year's stems and leaves from those hostas.  I noticed that many of the leaves were molded and wet.  I assumed by now they should have died, decomposed and disappeared into the ground.  But these had laid under those leaves, wet, dark and rotting.  I may not be the gardening expert, but I know that moldy leaves don't help plants grow.  They will actually cause disease to the new growth.

My heart wondered if that same process happens in our spiritual lives.  I can't live on last year's provision.  What was good for me in the past, not only is insufficient to sustain me now, but, if I cling to that, it can hamper my growth.  My walk with the Lord is a daily provision.  He knows and provides what I need today, for where I am today.  

And, can I even apply that to our world today?  If we only offer what sustained growth last year, will it be the best we can offer?  How much more if we only offer what was successful 10 years ago?  

So, I gathered up the moldy leaves and left the new hosta sprouts to breathe fresh air.  And I prayed, Lord, don't let me dwell in last year.  Keep me close to You for what You have for me today.  And as part of Your Church, let me be attentive to what You want to happen today to reach the world around me for You. 

Rest

Rest.  Everyone knows we need it.  Everyone knows that life goes better all the way  around when we get it.  But we often just don't do it.  Life is busy.  To-do lists abound.  "Opportunities" present themselves.  And we answer; we live, cross off one task, add two more to the list.  

I love my busy life.  It seems the more there is to do, the happier I am.  But happier in the moment sometimes comes at the expense of a quality of our work.  We are still doing our best, just our best, isn't really our best.

So, rest.  Find time, make time, take time.

I suggest sand and Starbucks at St. Simon's Island.

(ps - don't forget the sunblock)

What Do You Want?

Several days ago, I read in Luke 18 about Jesus healing the blind beggar.  It was one of those times that the words I had read, probably a hundred times before, jumped off the page as if they were printed in a 96 font; "Jesus asked him, 'What do you want me to do for you?' ".  I was overcome with the question, what if Jesus asked me that right now?  What would I ask?   

I rattled the thought around in my head as I headed outside to do some yard work.  I plugged in my ipod and turned on a podcast by one of my all-time favorite pastors, John Wood.  I was really excited about having his podcast because I hadn't been able to download them until Eric, another fav pastor, got me the right link.  So, I have a year's worth of sermons to catch up on, and start with the first one.  John's passage?  Luke 18, of course.  Sermon:  Jesus heals the blind beggar, of course.  I love it when God makes sure that I get it.  This is for me, right now.  You can't write that off as chance.

So, I continued to rattle that around, and came to some conclusions about myself that have been unsettling for the last week.  If Jesus asked me that question, in person, right now, I can't answer.  I can think of several things that would be helpful to my family life, my ministry, and my church.  But it seems to me that I should KNOW what I want and need most.  

The beggar knew what he needed and wanted most.  He knew what was keeping him from living the life he wanted.   

Have I lost the focus and sense of urgency about what I want to do?  Pastor Ross preached last year, Lord, make us addicted.  We should be consumed by the call You put on our lives.  We should be so focused on the goal of our walk with You, that we are keenly aware of what anything that keeps us from fulfilling that call. It's as though we have let ourselves be blinded by the busyness of the world.  It has distracted us, and caused us to be left sitting on the side of the road, useless for His Kingdom.  

Lord, I want my focus back.  I want to be so consumed by the drive You put in me to reach the lost, that I can give an instant answer to any opportunity You give me to ask.