God Lifts Me Up

Good morning as we begin another week of toil in whatever salt mine you labor in to make or maintain your living standard in the era of downsizing and the downtrodden. Whew! Note to self: Never again work up a greeting that long or complex. As I work to dig down another foot or so each morning (I rested yesterday), I become more than ever aware of how close I am at any moment to failure. Not the pessimistic kind of thinking that we strive to avoid, but the realization that life here is so very fragile. A wrong step on the shovel, a step backward off a ledge, a twist of the back, and my career in dirt mining is done for at least a while if not for this lifetime. We are upheld by our Lord each and every day...along with a little thing called the universe. In Hebrews 1:3, we read that Jesus upholds the universe with the mighty power of his command. You and I too are upheld by more than just our physical strength and coordination. This is a better and better thing as we get older because those strength and coordination things get more and more difficult.

As I think about my age, I have come slowly to realize that I probably won't make the Olympic team this year. Other factors may be involved as well, but we'll stick with my age for today. I probably won't make the 2016 team either, even with 4 years to prepare. As we like to say in one of those nonsensical statements, the athletes get younger each time the Olympics come around. This obviously cannot be true or we would be watching little sperms and eggs compete by now. We understand this statement to come from people growing older and further away from their dreams of Olympic glory. The fact that I cannot run the 100 meters in less than nine minutes anymore does not mean that I am not upheld by our Lord. Yes, I did mean 'minutes'. 9.58 seconds, the current world record for running 100 meters, is about what I use to pour a good cup of coffee. Later, I might run somewhere to answer a call of nature, but I am not going to set any world records even with that incentive. I may never set any kind of speed record in anything that I do. Some folks rush about in everything they do, but I was never built for much speed, and as I grow older I find myself actively resisting any attempts to speed me up. It is enough for me to know that God lifts me up in all things.

Bucky