MY SCOOTER
Things are picking up again. The slow season is officially done for me as I start preparing for the different things coming up this fall. I am speaking at various Club 121’s, creating silly games for groups to play at our camps, and assisting with podcasts and worship nights. On top of that, our recruiting trips are starting up so we are readying ourselves to go travel all over the place trying to find some stellar college students to staff our summer camps. Needless to say, things have officially picked up.
Surprisingly, through all of this, I have actually been able to find some time to stay connected with my Father. Recently I was reminded of just how crucial this is, especially during times that seem to be unbelievably chaotic and busy. I was sitting at my church last Sunday, flipping through some Psalms during worship, and I came across a passage that really hit me hard. It was a timely find as I was feeling pretty overwhelmed by all that was going on in my life. The passage was Psalm 91. It starts out like this…
“He who dwells in the shelter of the Most High will abide in the shadow of the Almighty.”
This particular verse brought up all sorts of vivid imagery in my head. This idea of dwelling is really comforting to me. I just love thinking about setting up shop in the very shelter of God, being near my Creator, and feeling content because I know that my God is looking over me. It was and is an overwhelming feeling for me. The only thing I can compare this feeling to is an experience I had growing up.
A long time ago I owned a scooter. I loved riding it around and around but hated—and I mean HATED—having to wear a helmet as well as knee and elbow pads. On one particular day though, those very pads I hated ended up getting put to good use. I was riding around on my scooter and decided to speed down my cul-de-sac. I did this sort of thing all the time, but this particular time I thought I heard a car coming up the road my street intersects with. I, of course, freaked out...and with me being so young I didn’t know which hand was which so obviously I was at a loss trying to determine which brake was the front brake and which brake was the back brake. I knew I had to stop—and fast— so I decided to slam on both brakes at the same time. This action proved to be disastrous as I immediately flipped over my scooter, bumping and skidding on the asphalt until coming to a complete stop. I was pretty banged up from the wreck so I did what any young boy would do...I ran up the street and into my house screaming and crying.
Once I entered my house though, my mom began to take care of all the nasty scratches and scrapes and I felt a little better. My time of chaos began to settle down and I began to feel safe, loved, and calm once more.
That kind of image is what made the verse really stand out to me. As I sat there in my seat at church thinking about that verse, it dawned on me that all I had to do in my current time of crisis is just come home and dwell in the shadow of the Most High. In the times where I felt banged up from life, crying and screaming for help, all I had to do was run home to my Father and He would tend to my wounds, comfort me, and love me.
Does this dwelling with God make my problems go away? Not necessarily, but through my utter dependence on God it made the things I was wrestling with much more manageable because I knew I was not tackling it—God was...and I got to assist.
My prayer now is that all of us will remember to dwell in the shelter of the Most High in all situations—because the more we dwell and abide with God, the more we are changed by Him. We will find ourselves having more love to give than we’ve had in the past, we will end up desiring to be more about the things God is about and ultimately we will end up becoming of one mind with God.
It is a beautiful journey we get to take! Press on! And remember that God desires all his children to come home. We just have to come through the door.
Things are picking up again. The slow season is officially done for me as I start preparing for the different things coming up this fall. I am speaking at various Club 121’s, creating silly games for groups to play at our camps, and assisting with podcasts and worship nights. On top of that, our recruiting trips are starting up so we are readying ourselves to go travel all over the place trying to find some stellar college students to staff our summer camps. Needless to say, things have officially picked up.
Surprisingly, through all of this, I have actually been able to find some time to stay connected with my Father. Recently I was reminded of just how crucial this is, especially during times that seem to be unbelievably chaotic and busy. I was sitting at my church last Sunday, flipping through some Psalms during worship, and I came across a passage that really hit me hard. It was a timely find as I was feeling pretty overwhelmed by all that was going on in my life. The passage was Psalm 91. It starts out like this…
“He who dwells in the shelter of the Most High will abide in the shadow of the Almighty.”
This particular verse brought up all sorts of vivid imagery in my head. This idea of dwelling is really comforting to me. I just love thinking about setting up shop in the very shelter of God, being near my Creator, and feeling content because I know that my God is looking over me. It was and is an overwhelming feeling for me. The only thing I can compare this feeling to is an experience I had growing up.
A long time ago I owned a scooter. I loved riding it around and around but hated—and I mean HATED—having to wear a helmet as well as knee and elbow pads. On one particular day though, those very pads I hated ended up getting put to good use. I was riding around on my scooter and decided to speed down my cul-de-sac. I did this sort of thing all the time, but this particular time I thought I heard a car coming up the road my street intersects with. I, of course, freaked out...and with me being so young I didn’t know which hand was which so obviously I was at a loss trying to determine which brake was the front brake and which brake was the back brake. I knew I had to stop—and fast— so I decided to slam on both brakes at the same time. This action proved to be disastrous as I immediately flipped over my scooter, bumping and skidding on the asphalt until coming to a complete stop. I was pretty banged up from the wreck so I did what any young boy would do...I ran up the street and into my house screaming and crying.
Once I entered my house though, my mom began to take care of all the nasty scratches and scrapes and I felt a little better. My time of chaos began to settle down and I began to feel safe, loved, and calm once more.
That kind of image is what made the verse really stand out to me. As I sat there in my seat at church thinking about that verse, it dawned on me that all I had to do in my current time of crisis is just come home and dwell in the shadow of the Most High. In the times where I felt banged up from life, crying and screaming for help, all I had to do was run home to my Father and He would tend to my wounds, comfort me, and love me.
Does this dwelling with God make my problems go away? Not necessarily, but through my utter dependence on God it made the things I was wrestling with much more manageable because I knew I was not tackling it—God was...and I got to assist.
My prayer now is that all of us will remember to dwell in the shelter of the Most High in all situations—because the more we dwell and abide with God, the more we are changed by Him. We will find ourselves having more love to give than we’ve had in the past, we will end up desiring to be more about the things God is about and ultimately we will end up becoming of one mind with God.
It is a beautiful journey we get to take! Press on! And remember that God desires all his children to come home. We just have to come through the door.
One of the beautiful things I get to do is visit the 62 year old Kenny. He is a hilarious man who now has local KC people he can call his family. Kenny is the one in the red.
No comments:
Post a Comment