A vital part of my family’s history is
our military heritage. Many of my family members have served in a branch of the
service or are still serving. From this vantage point, I have gotten some quite
interesting opportunities to experience the military as a civilian.
One thing that never ceases to amaze me
is the drills. Throughout boot camp and training, military personnel are
rigorously drilled (which is a nice way of saying they get screamed at
hysterically until they perform the desired action the desired way). During
these drills, trainees are focused intently on responding only to their
appointed superior and zoning everything else out. Good drill students
will hear nothing else besides the instructor. Others may be yelling over the
instructor, trying to drown his voice out or break the trainee’s concentration;
but, that trainee will try above all to hear his instructor and comply with his
wishes. His focus is undivided, and the harassers are as good as gone.
Oy. Here I would love to include for
each of you a copy of a wonderful book that has really impressed me through my
childhood and continues to do so, but that costs money . .. So, the book is
called With You All The Way by Max Lucado. I cannot recommend it enough,
and everyone who reads this should not rest or eat until they have their own
copy in hand. In all seriousness, it’s a great book, and I will struggle to
give a brief summary . . . Oh, wait, I found an online copy. Well, look at
that. So, open it in a new tab, read it, then come back. Don’t worry, it’s short,
and I will wait on you to get back. Here’s the link: http://www.tc.umn.edu/~burc0050/poems/lucado_king.html. Go get
it. Go now.
“Wasn’t that a wonderful story,
children?” Now, I’m sure you have put one and one together to realize the point
I’m getting at. We have an “Instructor” Who is daily guiding and aiding us.
There are many other things that are struggling to gain our attention. There
are messages everywhere, whether subtle or flagrant, that are bent on affecting
us. But, we also have our Instructor’s Son, Who has promised that He will never
leave us or forsake us. We can be confident (our confidence tempered with
alertness) in this world because of Who we have at our side! So focus. Listen. Learn. Pray for wisdom and strength.
Go with confidence, brothers and
sisters. Go knowing that you have power through Him Who is in control of
everything.
-In Christ,
Phil
I was reminded of something similar this morning in my devotions. I read the story of Mary and Martha. It is easy to get caught up in all the troubles of this world, get stressed, and do things all the time. Even if you are doing good things and serving others, if you do not have your priorities in order, it will not bring joy and fulfillment, but instead bring frustration and unrest. We need to be more like Mary, knowing when to serve and do things, but putting God first. We need to learn to tune out the noise of the world and sit at Jesus' feet; learning from Him, loving Him, and enjoying Him. It is hard to be a Mary in a Martha world, but it is much more fulfilling and it is what Christ desires for us. Thanks for the post and introducing me to that story.
ReplyDeleteEm :)