Yes, I have slipped on my commitment to sharing my journeys with Mark. I will pick it up again tomorrow.
I loved mud. Walking in it, playing in it, slinging it … the boy in me has always considered mud to be an oozing, gushy, slimy delight. Mud between the toes is an experience to be relished. One of my greatest childhood memories is of the days John Coyner and I spent days jumping into a huge mud pit. the mud was so deep that it we sunk almost our arm pits. It was an awesome bluish/black slimy that had been dredged from the bottom of the Tred Avon River and deposited within a berm just for our recreation. We would jump in, claw our way out and then go lay on the beach until it dried and our skin looked like it was cracking. Then we would jump in the river to clean off and then go right back to the mud. In those carefree days of childhood when I was free of responsibilities mud like such an appealing distraction.
One of the things I think I love about mud is that it is so slippery and hard to handle. It makes every action unpredictable. I makes walking difficult, climbing nearly treacherous, and grasping objects nearly impossible. In sports like football and horse racing, odds makers often have to change the odds completely when the event is held in the mud. It often a great equalizer.
I have been reminded over the past couple of weeks that when I allow my priorities to be “muddied up”, my walk becomes more difficult, climbing up from a stumble becomes treacherous, and maintaining a grasp of situations become nearly impossible. The harder I seem to try and get a good hold on my life, the more it tends to slip away.
A couple of weeks ago, I made some life changes. Just some dietary changes and a re-commitment to improving my physical health. As is often my habit, I did not really do this prayerfully and as a result, my priorities became quite muddy. I tried hard to better “manage” my time to clarify things, but I kept falling farther behind. The main thing I stopped doing was writing. This may not seem like a big deal to most people. It is not like a make a living writing or that people rely on my daily blog posts. Writing is my accountability. It is a check point that is crucial to the race course that God has set before me.
So the question has been for me, “how do I get back on track?”
GRACE!
Until I realized that I was too slimy to get out of my predicament and that I would need to rely on Him to clean me up and pull me up, I was going to continue to slip back into the mud. Grace says you don’t have to worry about catching up and making up for past failures. I don’t have to do two weeks of blogs over the weekend to get back on track (which was my plan). I just need to seek His face and His will for me today. Yesterday is gone. (Also see Taking Advantage of a Mulligan)
I understand that in some cases, restitution for our sin is required, but God makes a way for us in those cases. He does not leave us to deal with those on our own. If we try to make everything right in our own power, timing, and ability, we may very well end up in a worse condition. I have many examples of messing this up as well. His grace is sufficient in every situation.
“Humble yourselves, therefore, under the mighty hand of God so that at the proper time he may exalt you, 7casting all your anxieties on him, because he cares for you. Be sober-minded; be watchful. Your adversary the devil prowls around like a roaring lion, seeking someone to devour. Resist him, firm in your faith, knowing that the same kinds of suffering are being experienced by your brotherhood throughout the world. And after you have suffered a little while, the God of all grace, who has called you to his eternal glory in Christ, will himself restore, confirm, strengthen, and establish you.” (1 Peter 5:6-10)