Shade Tree Wisdom 9/26/09

The dry weather brought us a dead pine tree, and the association sent a card asking its removal. Fire hazard etc. So we contacted this group working down the street for an estimate, he came, made an estimate, I, the reader, had just read somewhere that today everything is negotiable, so I negotiated, and was successful. The tree is gone, the check book is lighter, but the powers that be were satisfied.

We’ve really been enjoying Fall weather with some gentle rains. Now they predict temps in the 90’s again! But the blessing of the year is the fact that it has been very quiet this Hurricane season. We are now on the downward side, so we can pray it will continue quiet for the rest of the Season. Small blessings, but surely appreciated

One quote strikes me as so true. It says, “Life is So Daily”.

It’s true, isn’t it? A child starts walking, not with giant strides, but little steps, falling often, getting up and trying again. Maybe the first steps holding on the daddy’s hand, or using an end table as support. But baby steps. Small advantage each time, growth is like that, Daily.

Mary Higgins Clark started writing while she was working full time to support her family. She would get up at 5 a.m. to write a page or two. Baby steps, a page at a time, and now, large success.

Louis LaMour, who was regarded as one of the most successful writers of Western novels, started by writing for magazines, being rejected dozens of times, until he finally got the formula and story right.

We know this and accept it as a truth, yet we often do not like what it means for our daily life.

I believe psalm 73 is helpful in Christian living. The Psalmist is a believer who says, “Surely, God is good to Israel, to those who are pure in heart”. But then he admits that “my feet had almost slipped, I had nearly lost my foothold” v.2 Why? “I envied the arrogant, and saw the prosperity of the wicked. They have no struggles, their bodies are healthy and strong. They are free from the burdens of the common man; they are not plagued by human ills.. . .They say, ‘How can God know? Does the Most High have knowledge?’ This is what the wicked are like, always carefree, they increase in wealth”. Vv. 3-5.11.12.

The rest of the verses read like our own lament, doesn’t it? “When I tried to understand all this, it was oppressive to me”. V,16, “TILL I entered the sanctuary of God, then I understood their final destiny”. V.17. And when he understands what life is really like with God, he ends it by saying, with a grateful sigh: “As for me, it is good to be near God. I have made the Sovereign Lord my refuge. I will tell of all your deeds.” V.28. That’s a Psalm to reassure us as we continue to grow in faith and grace under God.

GPD 9/26/09