A Hare Trigger

Whoa, cinnamon and cloves in the oatmeal this morning, I am living the wild life! As I walked this morning, I tried to recall the words to a hymn...all four verses of that hymn. Memory games are good for keeping the mind sharp. But I realized that although the hymn is about God, I am not talking to Him while doing this game. The words of the hymn are good but my mind is concentrating on a formula of words and not my Lord. My memory game might as well be about the recipe to pumpkin pie or the mathematical steps to solve an equation. It is rather a classic case of seeing the trees, but not the Creator of the forest. Okay, maybe that isn't exactly the classic line about trees and forests.

As I grow older, I tend to swap around the old lines a bit. The hare trigger of bygone days now functions more like a tortoise trigger. I can still produce a bang; there is just plenty of time to move out of the way. My so-called wild life is getting cold while I try to come to some point here. Uh oh! Mental meandering is another sign of advancing years, better to get back on the story. Heh, mocking myself in the morning, what is that a sign of?

The word of God tells of the perils of the double-minded. A person with no goals in mind, who is easily distracted from the way, and who believes one thing and then another. We have that unique part of the curse on us. Migratory animals don't get lost as they travel each year. We do not look up to see geese holding a meeting because the leader of the 'V' isn't sure where the flight was going. The predator on the savanna does not suddenly stop because she forgot what she was doing. That part of the curse sits more heavily on us. Sermons may wander, singers may drop a verse, and of course devotional writers are famous for a laser-like focus on the point of the writing. Guarding against double-mindedness is a duty for all of us in Christ.

As always, the good news is that last little prepositional phrase - 'in Christ'. Jesus helps us to maintain our focus on Him. Often times that is through a problem, a trial, or a good ol' fright that sends us spiritually and mentally running back to Him in prayer. We don't get far on our own. We look down and there is no more trail under our Christian feets. We look around and see lots of darkness in the valley of death's shadow. Looking to our own skill and knowledge, we find that we have lost the way and the light. We need a guide, a trailblazer to take us to our eternal home.

Now, the next duty - learning to trust our holy guide and Savior!
Bucky

P.S. Well shiver me timbers, that African grassy place doesn't have an 'h' on the end. You're waiting for me to correct 'hair' trigger, but it ain't happenin', I'm a Bugs Bunny fan! :-)