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Sep 03, 2022 08:00am

Lessons Out of the Dirt

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1 Peter 5:7 ” . . . casting all your anxiety on Him, because He cares for you.”

“Of all the paths you take in life, make sure a few of them are dirt” (John Muir).

I was fortunate to grow up in a small town nestled beside a large pasture with an imposing threat of bovine harassment on my daily trek for playtime with our nearest neighbor. Our “water feature” was the ragged slip-n-slide that donned the sloping acre lot right past where the king snake called home and where the shady sandbox was a frequent pit stop for the neighbor’s moody cat. Times were a bit simpler then or maybe just less distracting. As I mentally reflect on the county fair Rock-O-Plane ride called 2020, my heart yearns to unplug (literally) from the jostling of chaos that has weathered our planet and perhaps taken our delicate senses on an extended ride we didn’t buy a ticket to experience.

We might do our witness a favor with some transparent reflection. In a world tending to marinate in self-promotion, deception, greed, and self-pity, SELF-centeredness isn’t a good look, especially for the believer! Certainly if the past ten to twelve months have taught us anything; disruption will bring about change.

What form will that take for us?

What limits do we intentionally have on time-wasters?

What or to whom are we looking to “escape” stress, limit human interaction, and expose the ruts of poor habits we might have drifted into?

May I remind you and me . . . we aren’t overlooked by our heavenly Father. Jesus sees you. He initiates miracles every day. They may not come packaged with delicate bows; in fact they may look more like “mud pies,” just ask the blind man in John 9. The assurance is that they DO come. Be ready to receive them: isolation, positive test results, and disappointments can be the beginnings of some much-needed spiritual realignments. Our spiritual ophthalmologist’s specialty (God) is restoring sight!

I’m thankful for my garden days growing up. Snapping beans and making honeysuckle bracelets were a far richer experience than being handed an electronic device. But most of all, I’m indebted to a Savior that saved me from a dusty past.