It’s been a day . . . one of those days when things didn’t go exactly smoothly. It wasn’t a tragedy. No one died. But things were not easy either. I was reminded, as I sat working with Christopher on summarizing the stories in his literature, that laughter is indeed the best medicine. If you have never read James Thurber’s “The Night the Bed Fell,” I would highly recommend it. Christopher says it’s the funniest story he’s ever read. That’s remarkable because I think Hank the Cowdog’s Mopwater Files is the funniest book I’ve ever read. Patrick F. McManus’ “The Night the Bear Ate Goombaw” is another hilarious story in my all-time top ten. As I sat thinking about “The Night the Bed Fell,” I considered how many times I laughed today. I chortled at Pepper’s first encounter with snow. Imagine a rambunctious puppy trying to keep all four feet out of the snow at the same time. I outright laughed at a 4H member who tried some very strong breath mints. His face was priceless! I laughed at Jonathan’s silly knock-knock joke - the one where he tells the other person, “O.K. you start it.” It’s funny (not ha-ha, but strange) how one funny (funny ha-ha, not funny strange) memory will trigger another funny memory. As I enjoyed thinking about some funny things that have happened recently, and some not so recently, I felt my spirits lifting. So if you are one of the lucky people who got a call from the Saladin household tonight, we called to share that joke just to lift your day a little. I hope the funniness was catching and you found yourself thinking of some other funny things. And even if you haven’t had one of those days, maybe you stored up some humor for the next one-of-those days to-come.
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We have had a lot of water in Missouri over the past week. It’s really been a blessing that the ground wasn’t frozen, but eventually the ground becomes completely water-logged. It can’t hold any more. It’s been a muddy endeavor taking the dogs for a walk every morning, but they love the activity and it’s good to get outside.
As I was walking a couple of days ago, another analogy occurred to me - about staying on the path. When you follow a path, it becomes well-worn. You don’t have to worry about getting lost. But as you continue to beat that path, it compacts the ground underneath your feet. In the case of the recent flooding, that means not as much water can soak into the ground because it’s so compacted. It was fun hearing the sucking sounds as the dogs walked next to the path and the saturated ground gave every impression of being a quagmire as it resisted releasing their feet from the muck. Isn’t that interesting? It’s so much like staying on the path which leads to life. If it’s a familiar path that you walk, when you start to stray into the quagmire, you’ll immediately recognize the different feel. You would know without seeing that you’ve wandered off the path. But that path is only going to be familiar and beaten down if you walk it consistently and continually. You have to walk the same path every day. Spiritually speaking, you can’t just walk on the path of righteousness once a week. You can’t do it when it’s convenient. You walk consistently in God’s way all the time. Then, when you start to get off the path because of events in your life, you’ll immediately feel the difference. You’ll know it’s not right. The other side of the object lesson is this: the quagmire is difficult walking. It saps a lot of your energy - AND IT DOESN’T WANT TO LET GO. Once you get off the path, it takes energy to get back on. You have to overcome a lot of resistance in order to go the right direction again. Spiritually speaking, you know this is true, probably from experience. Once you stray from God’s ways, the going gets tougher, but it’s hard to pull yourself out of the miry muck into which you’ve blundered. The quagmire doesn’t want to let go of you. You know that God’s way is easier - even though the way of the world seems easier; God’s way is the path that makes life work! But getting back to that path is going to require a lot of energy and you’re going to have to spend some time cleaning up the mess you’ve made by going off the path. Aren’t you glad Passover is coming - when we get a chance to wash our feet? In the meantime, you’re walking down the road of life. There’s a narrow path that leads to life. There’s hidden quagmire if you stray off God’s path. Be cognizant of the path you’re walking. Don’t waste your energy in the quagmire. Conserve your energies so you can serve God faithfully and effectively. Stay on the path. |
AuthorCynthia Saladin is a homeschooling mom of three, with a passion for teaching them about God and having a personal relationship with him. Archives
November 2023
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