Pastor's Ponderings

An old joke tells about two Israelites who were following Moses across the bed of the Red Sea just after God had parted the waters. One comments to the other, “Can you imagine what this mud is doing to our sandals? They’re probably ruined!” Talk about sweating the small stuff! Here they were experiencing a miracle, and they were worried about their shoes. I began to wonder if maybe I have a little of that same spirit that misses that wondrous things that God is doing around me by focusing on the relatively minor inconveniences daily life presents. I found myself complaining about the ongoing road construction slow down of traffic and Eloise reminded me that the already resurfaced road was worth a few weeks of a snail’s pace travel. Maybe there are too many places in my life where I am so busy complaining that I can’t see enough of the big picture. God is giving us bright sunny days and relatively favorable temperatures in order to speed that road work along, Am I giving Him thanks, or just fussing ? Is this becoming too much of a trend in my life? Have I stopped thanking God for blessings because I’m letting those minor and temporary inconveniences have the spotlight in my thoughts? I realized that I need to put my long-term beliefs into practice in all my everyday experiences.