It’s grass cutting day! Oh, yay (she exclaimed with sarcasm dripping from her voice). When I was younger, I loved this chore; I loved grooming the yard, I enjoyed the accomplishment of a job well-one. Hours were spent carefully manicuring the hedges and trim. But now that I am officially a senior citizen and just about everything on this well-worn vessel aches, what was once a pleasurable experience is now just another chore that has to be done. What I despise most about yard day is trimming the banks. I have never boasted of being coordinated, any of my former physical education teachers can attest to that. I have an uncanny knack for finding creative ways to travel down a hill, lacking even the basic grace to land on my feet. My last tumble resulted in a torn rotator cuff, and I certainly keep that reminder rolling around in my brain while I am mowing. I’m concerned to the point of panic about having another fall, what if the doctors are not able to put this “Humpty Dumpty together again?”
Thankfully, if I ever slip spiritually, I have the safety net of salvation to catch me. I may fall by the wayside, get bruised, suffer some battle scars, disappoint my Father, or veer off course, but I have a grace-abundant Saviour Who picks me up, forgives in love, and sets my clumsy feet firmly on the path of His will once again. My loving Shepherd gently brings me home to His fellowship and His care every time that I am prone to wander. Unfortunately, that isn’t the case for those who have never met my Friend and Savior. Their lives have no stability, no hope, no foundation. Maybe instead of being so concerned about physically sliding down an embankment, I should be more concerned for those who are lost and sliding into a Christ-less eternity. Help me, Lord, to find those opportunities to extend a hand to those who are in need of the Savior, those slipping away, and help them to find firm footing, planted on the Rock of Ages.
Psalm 73:17-19 Until I went into the sanctuary of God, then understood I their end. Surely thou didst set them in slippery places, thou castedst them down into destruction. How are they brought into desolation…
Help me, Lord, to always be aware of the spiritual needs of the lost. Help me to recognize that their feet are on a path to destruction and only God can place those feet on firm ground. Make me a faithful witness of Your love and grace.