Theme: Be Thankful!

In the Still

I put on my running shoes and headed outside for my morning run. The temperature was a brisk 46 degrees. The wind was a mere whisper and the sun shone bright and warm. The fall air was so fresh it infiltrated my body with lively and blithesome feelings. It was one of those picture perfect Texas  mornings! The dogs were frisky and anxious to begin. They love our runs  and race through the fields along the road.

The joyful chirps of the birds filled the air and the heavy dew looked like glittering jewels along the countryside. The trees were varying shades of yellow, red, orange, and sprinkles of green not yet faded from summer. Deer eating acorns underneath the trees echoed the peacefulness that surrounded me.

I love serene mornings like this where I can feel His presence. I refer to it as being in “the still”. It was a perfect glorious morning and I was enjoying my run with God, just me and the dogs. 

The silent beauty of the morning was suddenly interrupted. In an instant my calmness in the still turned to complete fear.  A feral hog, one of the ugliest creatures on earth, with its long, stiff hair, tusks anywhere from 3-5 inches in length, and a large head in proportion to its body rushed out of some brush and came toward me. Wild hogs have increasingly populated Texas. They are one of the most destructive species on the planet.  Their mission in life is to uproot and destroy. They have even been known to eat their piglets.  Remind you of anyone?

At first, I hesitated to see if there were more hogs and which way the hog was running. It didn’t take long to figure out he was headed my way. That’s when my legs turned me the other direction and began running in what I would describe as a world record-breaking sprint. My three dogs immediately came to the rescue and jumped on the hog only to realize that he was more than an enemy, he was ferocious. They quickly joined me in my run for home and safety.

The above account is just like life. We can have a picture perfect day and BOOM, out of no where we are attacked by the enemy.  The enemy is the creature that rears its ugly head unexpectantly.  As I reflected on the morning event, I thanked God for my safety as well as the dogs.  It reminded me that we are beyond blessed every single day directly by God’s love, care, protection and indirectly through family and friends.   I realized that day I am most thankful that our enemy was destroyed by Christ’s death. Through His death, we were given a safe haven and the gate of eternal life was opened. There is nothing more awesome than that. “Since the children have flesh and blood, he too shared in their humanity so that by his death he might destroy him who holds the power of death—that is, the devil—and free those who all their lives were held in slavery by their fear of death”. (Hebrews 2: 14-18) Christ’s death rescued us from Satan’s hold on death and freed us from the fear of death.  “But it has now been revealed through the appearing of our Savior, Christ Jesus, who has destroyed death and has brought life and immortality to light through the gospel”. (II Timothy 2:11)

 Precious Father, as we gather together at a time of special thanksgiving, we celebrate and remember that Jesus is the only one who can free us from our enemies – fear, worry, anxiety, self-hatred, anger, depression, jealousy, rage, insecurity, and hopelessness. Thank you for your passionate concern for the truth. We praise that you are totally given over to righteousness and utterly hateful of wickedness. Thank you for those precious moments that we are in “the still”. Let us approach the throne of grace with confidence, so that we may receive mercy and find grace to help us in our time of need. (Hebrews 4:16)\

Carla Henson

Tuscola, Texas