Away, Around, & Up
Several weeks back, I wrote about my nightly walks near the woods and got some great feedback from you all about the fears we can contrive in our minds from the unknown, when we realize boogiemen are also bunny rabbits. Well, yesterday, I took a rare walk in broad daylight. About a mile in, I happened to look up the hill to my left and standing right there just inside the tree line, 10 to 15 yards away, were two deer, as still as statues. The only thing moving was their eyes as they followed me, ready to turn and run at any sudden change in direction I might make. I just smiled and watched them as I walked by, thanking God for those moments when you get a glimpse of something truly beautiful and majestic that He created. But to see those deer I had to look somewhere different from my normal forward course.
Today is very short, elementary, and basic, not a new message at all, but a simple reminder in this crazy-paced, tunnel-visioned world. Especially as we make the very strange mental connection that 1/12th of this year is already over.
To see the beautiful things of God, we are going to have to look away, look around, and look up from our normal course of direction.
So many today are like the racehorse with blinders, out of the gate and running full speed, seeing nothing but the dirt on the track ahead, no idea where the finish line actually is because the world is riding and kicking to run as hard and as fast as possible. But unsaddle the horse, remove the bridle and blinders, turn him into a pasture, and you will watch an entirely different experience. It’s funny and quite ironic that we use the phrase “they put him out to pasture” as a negative term of discarding a person after years of use, when for an actual horse “out to pasture” provides complete freedom and rest. You know who coined that phrase? Busy people running life ragged, simply afraid to know what stopping means.
If you are tired from carrying heavy burdens, come to me and I will give you rest. Take the yoke I give you. Put it on your shoulders and learn from me. I am gentle and humble, and you will find rest. This yoke is easy to bear, and this burden is light. —Matthew 11:28-30 CEV
Jesus never said there would be no burden or yoke in this world. He just said His was a completely different experience than the world. Look away, look around and look up. What is God ready to show you, if you dare?