Category: Religion

I’ve been asking God to help me deal with some things the past few days.  I asked him to change my attitude.  I was hoping it would be one of those moments when you roll out of bed and your hair falls in place and you just bypass the mirror for the perfect beginning to a stressfree day!  No. Instead, God pulled me aside today and poured some nasty medicine into a spoon and proceeded to put it in my mouth.  Then he looked at me a little closer, and just poured the whole bottle down my throat.   
It tasted awful, however it could have been worse.  It came totally by surprise, and that’s where God can be pretty merciful.  If you don’t see the medicine coming and you take it real fast, it actually doesn’t take long for it to start working.  If I had known the medicine was coming, I would have built up a mountain of resistance. I probably would have thrown it to the ground. I would have devised ways not to take the medicine. I would have tried to figure out how to make someone else take it. 
But alas, I look up and GULP there it is, in all it’s bitter glory.  Yeah, it managed to skip across every taste bud on the way down, and there was that familiar aftertaste that no amount of water could cleanse. 
Hours later, the medicine has fully kicked in, and the ailment has vanished, although I probably will experience the sickness again.  I expect, however, that my immune system has been strengthened, and I will do my best to avoid activities that might expose me to this virus called pride.  The medicine?  It’s been around for centuries.  No prescription necessary, just good old fashioned humility.

I love her because she has convictions and isn’t afraid to speak her mind in front of others. 

Well, our home improvements are done including our replaced fence and patio covering.  Our dog Dillon is especially happy about this because he no longer has to be chained in the back yard. 
It’s been fun watching him run all over the yard, up and down the fence line, sniffing, hunting, barking.  He is a dog full of wonder as he is experiencing a freedom that he has been without for several months.  As I observe him in his newfound playground, it seems as if he is experiencing the outdoors for the first time.  He truly is a wonderdog who has reclaimed his space.
His experience reminds me of times that I have been filled with wonder for God’s creation, His lavish provision, and His unconditional love and acceptance.  Unfortunately for me, I have failed to experience this much of my life because I was chained up in God’s backyard.  The difference is, I was the one who put the collar around my neck and fastened it to the chain.
I’ve come to realize, though not overnight, that "wonder" is very important to God.  It’s the primary reason for sabbath.  We might assume that sabbath is exclusive to "not working", but I believe that it is especially a time for us to "take in" God’s "labor fruits", and mostly to remove the distractions, of which there are many and not limited to our jobs.  I can imagine after a week of animal naming, planting,and cultivating, that Adam and Eve enjoyed their sabbath along with God.  They took the time to take in the beauty and wonder of His creation and of course God himself. 
So what are those distractions that keep us from enjoying God?  Of course, our jobs can be a primary obstacle, but what about our personal distractions?  I know I feel a sort of insanity as thousands of things race through my mind throughout the day, things I need to do short term and long term, worries about the future, preoccupation with how others are observing their "sabbath", and the list seemingly goes on. 
Don’t just think by taking a day off from work, or not mowing your yard on Sunday qualifies as sabbath observance.  Also, let’s not limit sabbath to a single day.  While a day devoted to sabbath is preferred, maybe it’s time we take "mini-sabbaths" more frequently.  Just to get alone in silence and solitude (that means we need to shut up too), and give God the chance to speak to us without chasing every little idea and thought much the way Dillon chases every little moving creature in the backyard.  By doing so, we remove the self-imposed chains that we previously thought served us well, and take a Dillon-prance into a wonder-filled and adventurous world that has always been there.  You might say, in our own backyard!