Good Thursday morning! The icy-cold fog has arrived; the next cold weather trial has begun. Where do I find my joy this morning.... spoken in the depressed tones of Mr. Snuffleupagus. Did you know the spell checker is no help when trying to spell some of those Sesame Street character names? I didn't either. I also found out that Mr. Snuffleupagus has a first name, Aloysius. I didn't know that either. In fact, I can't recall Mr. Snuffleupagus ever having a first name in my years of Sesame Street watching. Of course, even with the spelling of his last name in front of me I'm having trouble typing it the same way twice. If a child can spell "Snuffleupagus" no word in grade school should give him any trouble at all. I, on the other hand, couldn't spell the word at all without looking it up online. The question of being smarter than a 5th grader is a foregone, or perhaps I should say long gone, conclusion in my case.
Fortunately for you, I turn over the writing and inspiration for this devotional to the Holy Spirit. Otherwise you might find yourselves caught up in some discussion of characters from a children's show. Wouldn't want that to happen on a fine, cold Thursday morning, would you? I actually like to go back a bit and answer questions that a child should, and probably does, know. Paul tells us that knowledge can puff up. We can easily become proud in our knowledge. Finding oneself unable to answer questions that grade school children know is a good way to remind one of the slipperiness of knowledge. Facts we memorized in grade school aren't always readily available for recall on the spot to most of us. Some few people can remember and recall everything, but I'm not one of those. I spend a lot of time researching facts for my books. I gain a lot of knowledge and must therefore fight the urge to become proud in it. Looking over the questions God asks Job starting in chapter 38 of that book is another good way to humble oneself.
In a discussion I listened to the other day, a couple of professors made an interesting point about our language. English is apparently one of the few languages that does not have separate words for knowledge gained by experience and knowledge gained through scholarship. We tend to differentiate (Look how I'm trying to sound smart now!) by saying things like "street" knowledge and "book" knowledge. Some people call a scholar book smart with no common sense, or in Texas you might hear: "Big hat with no cattle". These descriptions are aimed at person who has a lot of book learning, but no actual experience "in the field" as they say. Just last night someone told us that experience is not the best teacher, but guided experience is the way to go. This is true in my experience (pun fully intended). Experience is a tough way to learn at times. It is far better to have Mom guide you to avoid burning yourself on a pan of hot water than to learn by sticking your hand on the side of the pot. Even though we all have a natural rebellion to any good advice, your mother may have showed you by holding your hand close to the pot to let you experience the heat without burning your skin.
I like the guided experience we gain through God's Holy Spirit. Many is the time that an experience of mine could have been much worse had I not observed the hand of God limiting the damage. Of course, I may not have noticed God's hand at work until a few weeks later when I had the opportunity to look back and wonder, what if...? Yesterday, I got the chance to wonder what if both the nice old lady and I had not bothered to look to our left at that intersection. One of us didn't, but God helped me to stop my truck before an accident happened. To my knowledge the little old lady is still under the impression that no one was there. I checked the mirror this morning and my eyes have receded back to their normal size. It's a good thing too. My cats took one look at me yesterday and fled the room, perhaps thinking that something with large teeth and claws had followed me home. Having your eyes popping out of your skull like that is a social nuisance.
Be careful driving out there today; the snow is supposed to start sometime later in the day. Dress warm and wear your mittens! And praise God for the day.
Bucky
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