Don’t Let Your Guard Down
My brother owns a contracting business that largely centers around land restoration. Because I work with him, I’ve been in some pretty interesting places and done some pretty interesting things. I’ve worn waders and walked across a wetland, rode a 4 wheeler while ‘spraying the edges’ at a controlled burn, and unfortunately got a Ranger stuck in a very wet marsh, more than once! I’ve planted hundreds of trees, walked through weeds that were way over my head, and sprayed herbicide from a punt boat my brother was ferrying. However, my favorite activity is caring for the trees in our tree farm. But one time this summer, I wasn’t in the tree farm for over two weeks. Upon returning, it was overrun with 3-4′ weeds! It didn’t take me long to realize you can’t let your guard down when you’re caring for trees.
We Have to Guard our Thoughts!
This is also true in our thinking. We have to guard our thoughts. The world comes at us hard: it is constantly giving us something to worry about. However, we don’t have to listen! Romans 12:2 (ESV) states, “Do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewal of your mind, that by testing you may discern what is the will of God, what is good and acceptable and perfect.” When everything seems hopeless , we must fill our minds with something hopeful. Isaiah 26:3 (ESV) states: “You keep him in perfect peace whose mind is stayed on you, because he trusts in you.” Did you catch that? PERFECT PEACE. We can believe God when He says, “I will be your God throughout your lifetime—
until your hair is white with age. I made you, and I will care for you.” (Isaiah 46:4, NLT)
Things to do today: (Click on links above for easy access.)
- Read another blog called ‘Hold Fast to Peace.’
- Listen to the song, ‘You Say’ by Lauren Daigle.
My family planned a week-long outing at one of our favorite campgrounds. Upon arrival, I discovered the road leading into the campground was under six feet of water. There is a road that leads out of the campground, but when I checked, it was flooded too. What to do now? Four campers were on the way and we needed to find higher ground. As it turned out, there was an access road at the back of the campground. Fortunately, it was at a higher elevation. When the campers arrived, I was uneasy about staying. Despite my reservations, my brother informed me all the water would be gone in a day and the sun would even dry the water near our campers. To my delight, he was right. It turns out that camping on higher ground has its benefits.
Sitting in an airport in the early morning hours is a perfect place to people watch. You can see all walks of humanity, and they come with a plethora of moods and a multitude of attitudes. Watching kids is especially entertaining because they are not stressed with traveling; they are dancing in the open areas, climbing on chairs, and giggling from the sheer joy of living. The adults however, often have a harried look. I lazily watched the craziness of the airport until I was unexpectedly thrust into the fray when tornadoes derailed most of the flights to my connecting airport. What should I do? Based on what I was witnessing, I had options. I could yell, throw a tantrum, or get angry at the airline personnel. But how could that possibly help the situation? There simply HAS to be a better way.
Picture this: late evening in an overcrowded parking lot, snowy and cold, with 2,000 impatient people trying to leave at the same time. There was high potential for angry words and honking horns. Since we wanted to keep the good feeling of the season, my sister-in-law and I waited patiently in a long line of cars. To entertain ourselves, we started making jokes as we watched drivers cutting in front of other cars and forcing their way through to the exits. It went like this: “They clearly never went to kindergarten-because that’s where you learn to take turns.” Or, “Maybe they only had half-day kindergarten.” You know what? As silly as our jokes were, it worked. We didn’t get upset with the choices people were making. We held fast to peace.