Thoughts for the Day
Posted by Chris
Left a little later for work this morning then usual. Because of this the traffic was heavier than it is only thirty minutes earlier at my usual drive time. Perhaps the only good thing about moving through slow traffic is that it provides me with more time to listen to some good music, and think and pray about where my day is headed. I think this week has got me by the ankles. I feel it tugging, trying to trip me up, determined to loosen my sure footing and send me spiraling downward into stress, anxiety and worry. It's a typical week - just a busy one. And all of these things are crowding in on me. Luckily I'm noticing it, rather than reacting to it, and hopefully that will give me an edge up. I don't know.Did have a couple of moments this morning that God moved the curtain a little and gave me a glimpse of Him. The first came from a Todd Agnew song entitled "Unchanging One" from his upcoming album Reflection of Something (releases 8.16.05). The lyrics just struck me, enough that as I was mesmerized behind the wheel, half listening to the music & half watching out for crazy drivers around me, that the words caught my attention & caused me to restart the song to listen closer. Here are the words from the chorus...
You know when I wake, when I rise, when I pray, when I curse You
And You love me the same
You know when I stumble and fall, and You're there through it all
The only unchanging one
And You love me the same
You know when I stumble and fall, and You're there through it all
The only unchanging one
The phrase "You know ... when I curse You and You love me the same." I don't think I can fully wrap my brain around that concept. It's easy to see God has some type of benevolent figure who has mercy on our ineptitude - who gives grace when we are just stupid enough to make mistakes. It's a much harder thing to see Him as the loving Father, bound & determined to love us in spite of our rebellion. I look in the eyes of my children and find love greater than most others I have in this world. And yet the boys are getting old enough that they choose to disobey or ignore what I want them to do at times. It can hurt - and they're only 5 & 7 years old! I can't imagine what it will be like when they are teenagers and young adults making their own choices in life - many of which, I am sure, will rub against what I would choose for them. Yet God loves us even so - even when we step off the beaten path of righteousness and give Him that, "I'll show you" look in our eyes. "You know ... when I curse You and You love me the same."
The other moment came from a forwarded email from my beautiful wife. Here it is:
Youth is not a period of time. It is a state of mind, a result of the will, a quality of the imagination, a victory of courage over timidity, of the taste for adventure over the love of comfort. A man doesn't grow old because he has lived a certain number of years. A man grows old when he deserts his ideal. The years may wrinkle his skin, but deserting his ideal wrinkles his soul. Preoccupations, fears, doubts, and despair are the enemies which slowly bow us toward earth and turn us into dust before death. You will remain young as long as you are open to what is beautiful, good, and great; receptive to the messages of other men and women, of nature and of God. If one day you should become bitter, pessimistic, and gnawed by despair, may God have mercy on your old man's soul. --General Douglas MacArthur
I feel this longing. May I stay young at heart...
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