Sometimes I wait too long to get things done. Some would call it procrastination. I prefer to refer to it as “waiting until all the facts have had time to materialize” because it just sounds better. I got my Christmas lights up on December 9th. Some people may not think that’s too late but when you have to drive to seven stores and over 75 miles just to buy Christmas lights, it’s probably waiting a little too late. The other problem waiting that long is that none of the seven stores, even the store with the lights, have the hooks you need to hang them off the shingles that late in the season. So, I did something the Robertsons of Duck Dynasty fame would appreciate, I hung them with duct tape. It’s the heavy duty, outdoor duct tape so I have faith it will hold. (As I write this, I’m only one day removed from putting the lights up so the jury is still out.) It was great entertainment for my son and he even took a picture to proudly show his friends.
Too often, my walk with God resembles my search for Christmas lights. At the last minute, when I really need to spend time with God, I’ll get busy and do whatever I need to do to be in His presence. I will even go so far as to try and throw duct tape on the problem just so I can get it done. When I have to. It’s after these moments that I ask myself why I haven’t spent more time in His word, why I haven’t spent more time in prayer, why I haven’t spent more time in silence. Why didn’t I wake up today with the thought of getting closer to God instead of running through a mental checklist of what I need to get accomplished?
Psalm 23 starts with “The Lord is my shepherd, I will not want” but I often start the day and spend the day wanting so many things besides a simple walk with the Lord. I want to grow closer to God each day so that I feel, in all that I do, I am walking with my shepherd and knowing that all I need is taken care of. I want to be better at waking up with God, walking with God and ending the day with God instead of rushing God into the open moments of my life and trying to wrap it all up with duct tape. I can get by with redneck Christmas lights strung with duct tape but I know I cannot get by without a focused, ongoing relationship with God. I know it. I want to spend my remaining days living it.
Grace and peace
Jeff Jones
Decatur, Texas
Yes, I want that too. I can relate to your duck tape explanation. we must keeping striving to be in the presence of our Mighty God.
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