At a Snail’s Pace

During a recent walk, I noticed a tiny snail, its shell no bigger than a dime. It appeared motionless, but when I knelt down for a zoomed-in photo, I could see its forward progress. Ever so slowly, it traveled, a millimeter at a time, across the sidewalk. Satisfied with my photo, I continued my walk.

As I walked, I couldn’t stop thinking about that miniscule snail making its way across the path. It travelled slowly, but in a direct line, never deviating from its goal, the grass on the other side of the sidewalk. I compared its direct course to my own spiritual walk. Unlike the sluggish snail, I tend to be a sprinter.

I get excited about a new book, new project, or new bible study and run, run, run. Then I get tired, or distracted, and scurry off in another direction. Just like the rabbit in the tortoise and the hare story, I hop one way, rest a while, then scurry in another direction. Two steps forward, one step back.

At times, it seems I’m not making any progress, and I get discouraged. I sigh, and think of myself as a failure, one who can’t stick with anything, who makes no progress, sees no spiritual growth. But the tiny snail made me re-examine my spiritual walk. I evaluated my spiritual progress over the past few years.

Not so long ago, I reacted in anger when I heard or read views different from mine. I would rant about it to my husband. Since then, I’ve made progress. God has enabled me to examine other ideas and consider people’s motives and backgrounds. Yes, I occasionally still get angry. But the anger is short-lived. Two steps forward, one step back. God reminds me that all people are made in His image, and He loves them, too. He died for them, too. He replaces my anger with love for others.

Recent events have triggered fears and doubts. But God reminded me that He is faithful, in all circumstances. Abraham and Sarah had a child, but not until they were elderly. The Israelites were enslaved, yet God miraculously delivered them. Paul suffered immensely, yet God encouraged and inspired him. In spite of, or because of, recent fearful times, my trust in God and His plans has strengthened. Sometimes I still experience fear, but I quickly remember that He is still in control.

No, I don’t move in a slow, steady, straight line like the snail. But I do move. My walk may zig-zag, but I still make progress. Even though I don’t move steadily forward like the little snail, I do make progress. This encourages me.

What about you? Do you make steady spiritual progress like the snail? Or, like me, do you hop about and make your way forward in an erratic path? Do you take two steps forward and one step back? How have you made progress in your spiritual walk?

Father God, whether we make slow, steady progress or erratic progress, guide each of us so that our spirits draw ever closer to you. Teach us to love others as you do.

Down a Slippery Slope

I love watching skiers fly down slippery slopes, controlling their speed while whizzing down the mountain-side. Unfortunately, the athlete sometimes loses control and careens down the mountain with devastating consequences.

I recently encountered a slippery slope in my neighborhood park. Instead of mountains, my slopes had gentle hills that hug the earth. Warmer temperatures had melted the recent snowfall. When I wandered on the trails, ice lingered in shaded spots, leaving the trails wet and muddy.

One misstep is all it took. Stepping on the gently sloping path, my foot slid. I landed hard on my hands and knees in the mud. With my right wrist and leg hurting, I got to my feet and limped home.

I hurt, but thankfully, I wasn’t injured. As I continued, I thought about spiritual slippery slopes. Some appear mountainous, like substance abuse or infidelity. Others seem tiny, like gossip or criticism. But a fall down these slopes, whether mountainous or tiny, can be deadly.

We venture onto those slippery slopes of sin and fall into the mud. Fortunately, God offers grace. He is willing to lift us and cleanse us. He whispers, “Go, and sin no more” and sets us on level ground.

PRAYER: Father God, guide my footsteps. Keep me away from tempting slippery slopes and keep me standing firmly for you.

“So, if you think you are standing firm, be careful that you do not fall.”

I Corinthians 10: 12

A Bouquet of Roses

Hey, I’m back! We’ve had computer issues and have spent lots of time at doctor’s offices for my husband’s health problems, but I have returned.
Today I want to celebrate by sharing a short devotion I wrote for The Secret Place, many years ago.
Have a beautiful week!

@followers

A Bouquet of Roses

Ladies, do you remember how you felt the first time someone sent you a bouquet of roses? The gentleman who sent them thought very highly of you, and his gift made you feel special didn’t it? You may have laughed or cried, but you expressed joy at the beauty of the roses and the loving gesture of the sender.
Gentlemen, do you remember how you felt the first time you sent someone a bouquet of roses? You loved that lady very much and hoped your expression of love would be pleasing to her. You eagerly anticipated her response to your lovely gift.
Flowers are gifts to us from their creator, God. He loves us very much, and He hopes we will appreciate his gifts. Just like a suitor who sends his loved ones flowers, God’s gift of fragrant flowers woos us to His side. May we receive his gifts with joy, appreciation, and a desire to love him too.
Oh God, lover of my soul, open my eyes to the ways you woo me. Whenever I see a fragrant flower, remind me this precious gift has come from You. Let me respond with joy and gratitude to your countless gifts of love.

Song of Songs 2:12-13 “Flowers appear on the earth; the season of singing has come, the cooing of doves is heard in our land…. Arise, come, my darling; my beautiful one, come with me.”

Ah, Spring

User comment

Spring is in the air, and the sunshine draws me to the nearby nature trails. As soon as I enter the park, serenity covers me like a blanket. The trees, still black and bare of leaves, stretch high above my dirt pathway. The winds blowing up over my head sway the trees, causing their bare branches to clack against one another. On either side of my path, green shoots poke tentatively from the ground. Frogs in the nearby pond seem to sing, “Spring is coming.”

Soon these trees will wear lush canopies of green, and flowers will dot the countryside. Suddenly, I encounter a white-tailed deer staring at me. A mere ten yards away, her huge brown yes watch me gingerly pass by. Then I notice two more keeping watch. As my peaceful walk draws to a close, I exit the park through the overarching branches. The city streets loom hard in a barren contrast to the park. Walking home, I vow to take the beauty and serenity of God’s world with me, allowing it to awaken spring in my soul.

Precious Creator, let the springtime around me awaken the springtime in my soul. Let my heart know that you are God.

Jeremiah 24:7a “I will give them a heart to know that I am the LORD.”

(This devotion was first published in “The Secret Place.”)

Winter in the Forest

User comments

Winter in the Woods

Winter in the forest has a beauty all its own. Gone are Spring’s purple and yellow wildflowers. Gone are the deep green summertime leaves waving overhead in the breeze. Gone is the brilliant pallet of fall’s colors screaming for attention. Gone is the constant chorus of bird call, each looking for its mate. Instead the neutral, muted browns and grays of winter dominate the landscape.  Stark in their bareness, the trees stand alone against the pale blue sky, streaked with wispy white clouds. Everything looks dull and dead.

I walk the meandering trails on this warm February day, listening to an occasional snap as a small animal rushes to its hiding place. Most of last week’s snow has melted, but in the shady bends along the path my feet crunch into patches of snow and sink in the mud. I walk in silence, my feet cushioned by the sandy path, softened pine needles, and damp, brown, lifeless leaves.

I admire the shapes of the trees. Some stretch tall and straight, reaching their leafless branches to the winter sky. Some bend and twist, their branches overarching the path, providing a natural archway. Tangles of broken branches surround other trees, creating masses of interesting, angular shapes. Yes, winter in the forest has a beauty all its own.  I’m grateful I have eyes to see this unique, barren beauty.

            How often do we stop to see the beauty in the barren times of our lives? At times, like the trees, we are stripped bare of joy in our lives, burdened with pain and guilt. That’s when we most need to keep our spiritual eyes open to God’s beauty.

That’s when we most need to enjoy long, quiet times with our Lord, trusting Him to reveal His beauty in the midst of our colorless world. It’s then we learn to see the beauty in those barren times of our lives, for then, stripped of our finery, we more clearly see the glory of the Lord.

            Father God, creator of all beauty, open my eyes to see Your beauty all around me.

Psalm 27:4 “One thing I ask of the Lord, this is what I seek: that I may dwell in the house of the Lord all the days of my life, to gaze upon the beauty of the Lord and to seek him in his temple.”

What kind of person?

Dallas Willard

I don’t know about you, but I’d like to be the kind of person who loves like Jesus did. I’d like to act with kindness, to care about another’s spiritual life, and to love sacrificially.

How does that look for you, in your life?

Here’s how it looked for Jesus.

“For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life.”

John 3:16

Reflecting

I had a lovely hour-long walk on this beautiful February day.
I love the way the sunlight reflects off the water, even in the wind.


Lord, let me be like the moon, and reflect the light of your Son.

“As water reflects the face, so one’s life reflects the heart.”

Proverbs 27: 19

Watching the Lava

Several years ago my husband Scott and I flew to Hawaii for our niece’s wedding.  While there, we spent a couple of days on the big island of Hawaii with his brother and our sister-in-law.  One afternoon we visited an area that had been covered by a lava flow. 

Since the lava was cool, we walked on the hardened lava to the newly formed beach, several hundred yards farther into the ocean than the previous beach.  The lava, hard, crusty, and smooth, undulated in small, rolling hills.  When we reached that beach, I was startled to see black sand. 

I thought it would take hundreds of years to erode the lava to create this black sand, but one of the local men informed me how the sandy beach actually had been formed.  When the extremely hot, molten lava poured off the land into the much cooler ocean, the extreme difference in temperature caused the lava to explode, instantly creating black sand.

            Eager to see a current lava flow, we inquired about the feasibility of viewing the lava.  The breezes blew landward during the day, creating caustic clouds, unsafe to breathe, so we couldn’t go then.  We could, however, view the lava flow at night, when the breezes blew seaward.  That evening, we drove 20 miles on a curving road far from any habitation.  When we reached the barricade, we pulled over and climbed of the car. The soft glow of billions of stars dotting the inky sky provided the only light on this pitch black night.

Flashlights in hand, we walked down the road, and then carefully picked our way along a narrow, rocky path.  Small groups of people, all with flashlights lit, stared the same direction.  After walking a couple hundred yards, we perched on a large rock, turned off the flashlight, and looked for the lava flow.   Across a small bay, about a quarter of a mile away, we saw it. 

It was absolutely breathtaking.  Contrasting with the dark water, a red-orange glow illuminated the land behind it.  As the molten lava spilled into the sea, a huge steam-cloud rose into the night sky and drifted slowly over the Pacific Ocean.  By watching carefully, we saw the waves crashing against the flow of the lava.  We sat spellbound for over an hour, staring at the magnificent sight. Then, in the silence of the still, quiet night, my brother-in-law began to sing:  Oh Lord, my God, when I in awesome wonder, consider all the worlds Thy hands have made….

What a perfect song for the moment, for we beheld the beauty of the worlds His hands have made.  Only the brilliance of the starlight and the red-orange glow of the lava broke the darkness. 

We watched as God created new land in the middle of the Pacific Ocean. We imagined the new black sand beach being formed by His hand.  The beauty and power of our God left us amazed and humbled.  Here we sat on a rock, miles from civilization, watching a tiny sliver of His creative power.  I see the stars; I hear the rolling thunder, Thy power throughout the universe displayed. 

Oh God, keep us ever mindful of how great Thou art!

“He is your praise; he is your God, who performed for you those great and awesome wonders you saw with your own eyes.” Deuteronomy 10:21

Food for Thought

Oswald Chambers

Lord, give me the experiences you desire. Show me how to be useful to you and to your children. Give me experiences that will enable me to better understand and love others.

Thirsty

Daily, we eat food and drink water. No matter how much we eat or drink the day before, we need, eat and drink again the next day. If we don’t we are, at best very uncomfortable.

Clearly, Jesus is referring to a different type of hunger and thirst. Our spiritual hunger will be satisfied and our spiritual thirst will be quenched when we come to Jesus, our Lord and Savior. He is willing to fill all our spiritual needs.

Father, thank you so much for sending your son to earth. Through Him, our spiritual needs are satisfied. We only need to come to Him.