Thought #20

And Jesus answered them, "See that no one leads you astray."

- Matthew 24: 4

I think the rains are coming.  At least the leaves are back on their branches.  Purples.  Red.  Yellows as bright as the day they left.  And a sky full of grey hazy blues - to think, sad songs could look so sweet.

All the norms of the day occur in their timely fashion.  I hope you don't get bored with the days.  I hope you don't always deal with the "same old, same old."  I hope you know that each day is different from the last.  And, most of all, I hope you know you play a part in this whole daily life scheme, that it's not all routine, that this life is so much more than sun-shiny days and finding four-leaf clovers.

You see, we have this It's a Wonderful Life perspective and life is such, but probably not in the way you actually expect it to be.  Just because you wished on a star doesn't mean it will come true.  We somehow forget that sometimes life takes work.  Well, how about we say we are ignorant to the fact that most of this takes work.

Anyone remember having to rake the yard of a cluttered Fall? Well I do.  I was a kid.  All I wanted to do on a Saturday was watch cartoons in the morning, have a kick around and run wildly until everything went dark.  No raking.  No chores.  No work.  Nonetheless, I'd be out there holding a rake that would tower over me if I stood it straight up.  I'd drag it all the way across the yard to make one massive pile.  I was always determined to make fun out of this work somehow.  So I tore up the grass and brought all vegetation together.  What seemed like years later and finally I finished.  Done.  Nothing more except to jump in the pile.  Yes.  Sweetness.

So yeah, life takes work, but there is a certain enjoyment allotted to it, if only we saw how to line everything up correctly.  I mean, wouldn't that be wonderful if we woke up every morning with this set plan in our heads about what will happen?  A predetermined adventure we dreamt up the night before.  And it would take us on unforgettable trips.

Jesus said we need to work.  That we can't let people lead us astray.  That translates into us having to do work.  We have to prepare ourselves.  

I could tell you that you should be reading the Bible everyday.  Then that you should be locking yourself away in your closet and praying for more than five minutes - tortuous, I know.  And that you should be trying to dwell on this whole God thing during every part of the day.

But that would be futile.

Don't do that.  Be with God how you want to be with God.  If that means you're just chillin' with the Big Man as you drive to the beach, or if that means you walk along, shoot up a prayer and just smile; then do it.  Live the life God gave you.  And live it with God, constantly, in any way that you feel appropriate.  

Be with God.  Know God.  And know where you stand with Him.

Simple.