Friends' Favorites - Get the Picture

And the ones sown among the thorns are others who hear the Word; Then the cares and anxieties of the world and distractions of the age, and the pleasure and delight and false glamour and deceitfulness of riches, and the craving and passionate desire for other things creep in and choke and suffocate the Word, and it becomes fruitless.

Mark 4:18-19, The Amplified Bible

A few years back, while standing at the railing of the sweetest little cottage by Galveston Bay, a Great White Egret flew in close and landed between the bottom of the steps and the water. I ran for my handy, dandy digital camera - the one I was so proud I remembered to bring - the one my daughter bought for me so I could take lots of pictures to share with her. (She inherited her love for the beach from the generations of women before her who have all found peace by the water, and she wanted pictures of my trip.) I was so excited - I had learned all about the camera - I actually read the book! I knew how to use it and I had THE perfectly, idyllic scene posed like an award-winning magazine photo shoot in front of me.

Click...nothing happened. Silly me - I forgot to turn it on. With a self-deprecating shake of the head, I turned it on and brought it to eye-level to capture this perfection and clicked again. Nothing happened. I clicked it twice more. Still nothing happened. I'd forgotten to charge the battery and I neglected to bring the power cord...I remembered right where I left it - meaning to pick it up - but in my hurry to get to where I was going, I ran out the door without it.

Our Christian walk can be just like that trip to the beach. We go through all the motions of getting everything ready and getting to the right place and bringing all the stuff we think we need. Power cords and chargers get put to the side - after all they are smaller and take up less space, we can throw them in last. Then we get busy with adding all the other stuff of life and the cares of this world, and we push God to the side. Lord, I'll pray tonight, okay? Just let me get this done today. Night comes and we're exhausted from the day. Lord, I'm so tired, we'll talk in the morning, alright? Morning breaks and we're still exhausted because we tossed and turned all night thinking about the day and all that needs to be done. We think if we can just get away for the weekend, then we will spend time with the Lord without all the distractions.

But what will happen when we come to the end of the road - to our eternity - and we find we forgot the One that makes it all come together? We forgot to spend the necessary time it takes to power up. Get the picture?

Prayer:

Father,

        Forgive us for thinking we can do even one thing without You. Forgive us our misappropriation of time and our skewed priorities. By Your grace and with Your guidance, help us to set our priorities in the proper order. Help us to see the big picture. You first and everything else after. In Jesus' Name we pray. Amen.