I hate to say ugly words. I really do. I especially hate to do it in front of my momma. But they say confession is good for the soul. <SIGH>
Last night as I was doing dishes, I dropped the lid to a heavy sauce pan and it dead-on centered the nail of the second toe on my left foot. It doubled me over. I picked up the offending lid and started smacking the stainless steel sink with it… quite a few times—as hard as I could.
All I did was moan and crack the sink with the lid. It was hurting in the way that with every beat of my heart it throbbed painfully. (Picture the Tom & Jerry cartoon where Jerry drops a huge bolder on Tom’s foot. You see poor Tom holding his foot up and the the throbbing is visibly ballooning in and out, in and out, in and out with every heart beat! 😂) well, it may not have been quite that dramatic; but I think I have made my point that it hurt! The pain was instant and hot and burned and finally went numb. I pulled myself together and went on about my evening.
Our evening routine is normally Wheel of Fortune and Jeopardy. I pretty much have no interest in television after that. Last night was much the same. After Jeopardy went off. I was ready to head to my room. I had things to do. So. as I was getting my things to take with me, I picked up my water glass. I didn’t realize that condensation had it stuck it to the coaster it was sitting on. These are those soap stone coasters, you know, fairly substantial and weighty. The stuck coaster did not stay stuck for long. When it “un-stuck,” it deadheaded for… umm, you guessed it… the nail of the second toe on my left foot. It hit the exact same spot!
Oh the pain! (We won’t go through all that again.) My poor toes stay sore all the time anyhow. With my lack of field vision, I am frequently running into things and bumping my toes. So, my frustration at hitting this already sore toe twice tonight got the best of me. I did say a couple of words I would not normally say. It wasn’t hideously bad, just not normally me. But dang it, that toenail had just grown back from the last time I mangled it!
I felt bad and I apologized to my momma and my Lord. I told mom that satan knew I was going to my room to work on my new Bible study.
As I thought about it later, I could see that I was probably not too far off. I didn’t think much about the first hit, although it was pretty precise; but that second hit was a direct aim! It is not always the big things that get us. Sometimes the enemy uses tiny darts (or coasters) to pierce our armor. The struggle is real. We do need to keep our spiritual eyes open to avoid the traps and snares that the evil one will put in our path and the boulders that will get thrown at us.
Our earthly existence, the world we are living in is becoming more challenging each and every day. The stresses of life closing in make it harder and harder to stay focused. I’m not talking about the enemy throwing a brick and smashing your toe, causing you to say a bad word. I’m talking about the realities of how we, as followers of Christ, are presenting our selves to a lost (and uncaring that they are) world.
The stumbling blocks are likely to get bigger than trying to control a pain-pinched tongue. How are we preparing ourselves for those times when our walk, our faith will be challenged?
We have to start with the foundation. God’s Word. Get it. Read it. Study it. Sink into it. Allow it to permeate your very being. Study it alone. Study it with others. Take it seriously. Someone’s eternity could depend on. Strive to allow the Word of God to shape all that you think and do.
This is the person that want to I strive to be:
“Only conduct yourselves in a manner worthy of the gospel of Christ, so that whether I come and see you or remain absent, I will hear of you that you are standing firm in one spirit, with one mind striving together for the faith of the gospel;” ~ Philippians 1:27 (Source: https://bible.knowing-jesus.com/topics/Standing-Firm)
I would love to be able to say that I am that person, that I have never said a bad word, or treated someone unkindly, or told a lie, or been impatient and hurt some ones feelings, or been in places that I didn’t need to be, or probably a hundred other sins I could confess. But I can say that. I am a flawed mortal being with a sinful human nature that has received the forgiveness and grace of my Lord Jesus Christ. As my previous pastor would say all the time, “We have to get up every morning and make the deliberate decision to die to ourselves, pick up the cross off Christ and follow Him.”
Do you know Him? Do you know my Lord? Do you know the Christ that died for you before you were even born? Do you have that foundation to build on? I pray that you do, or that you will come to know Him and feel the confidence that can only come from a relationship with Him. Jesus Christ, God’s Son, born into human flesh, sinless, crucified and giving His life freely, buried, arisen on the third day, will come into your life and change the outcome of your eternity. You just have to believe and invite Him to be in your life.
Here is an excellent website that can give you additional information about making Jesus Christ YOUR best Friend! PeaceWithGod.net
Restricted Vision, Unburdened Sight 