Got To Put It In Gear!

I pulled up to the drive-thru just like many mornings before.  I ordered my large coffee, turbo, shot of vanilla, double double, stirred not shaken.  I was instructed to pull up to the window which I dutifully did.  I placed my car in park, chatted to the attendant, and then placed my coffee in the cup holder.  Saying good bye to the attendant I then proceeded to press my foot to the accelerator - nothing happened!  Well the engine revved, but the car went nowhere!


Evidently if you want your car to move you must put it in gear.  Who knew?


So being the resourceful driver that I am, I placed my car in gear, smiled at the attendant who was laughing, and once again pressed my foot to the accelerator.  My car lurched in reverse.  Evidently if you want your car to move, and have it moved forward, you must place  it in "drive" - who knew?  Now the attendant is laughing hysterically as I put my car in drive, wish her for the third time a good morning, and drive away.


Here's the thing . . . too many of us our like this in our Christian walk.  We want to go through our day but when we put our foot down all we do is race our engines and go no where.  Too many times we try to move in our own strength, but only with great futility!  Then there are those of us who realize that in order for us to move we need something else - something that will drive us forward.  We try things and find ourselves propelled in the wrong direction.  It is only when we place our lives in prayer - prayer that can drive us forward that we can realize our true potential.


In 2 Corinthians 1: 10 and 11, Paul is thanking the Corinthian Christians for their help in propel him and the Kingdom forward.  Take a look . . . prayer that came in the midst of desperate times, that helped them trust in God.


Take time today to put your life in forward gear - pray!  Pray early, pray often, and give God the glory as you motor down life's highway.


Tomorrow I will remember to put it gear while at DD.  You put it in gear too!

Lesson From The Wood Pile

Most Sunday evenings, after all is done at the church, I come home to a task that I find quite restful and satisfying - I load the wood rack in our back room full of wood we will use in the coming week to heat our home. There is something very special about wood heat that very little else compares to.

To load the rack, I have my handy dandy wheel barrow and a good set of gloves. I take the empty wheel barrow and walk to the large wood pile about 50 yards from our back door. After setting the barrow down, I threw back the vinyl cover protecting the wood from the elements, and i begin to load pieces of the pile into the barrow.

Traditionally it will take about 4 or 5 trip with the barrow to fill the rack completely. The first load, was a pretty weak load! I mean, that i didn't stake it well and actually wasn't able to load many pieces onto it. The pieces were irregular and din't fit well together. They had odd shapes and I really don't care for wood that is odd - give me good old uniform everyday of the week! The next loads went better. I discovered ways to load the irregular pieces together in order to load more wood on the barrow. The second load was huge, the third and the fourth.

Now my thought was this - no matter if the load was light or heavy, well loaded and well fitted, or poorly loaded and irregularly fitted - all of the loads got to there destination. Sometimes we travel pretty. And sometimes we travel ugly, or multiple points in between. the point is that we achieve our destination. Sometimes as a Pastor I really struggle with people who don't fit well into my barrow.

How do you handle the irregular? Do you see the irregular as an opportunity to grow and learn, to discover the new and creative?

My prayer for you this week is that you will learn to love and appreciate all that God provides for you - regular and even irregular. . . .