Have you ever seen debris on the ground and thought, “Someone should really pick that up,” and then walk right by it?  I HAVE

Have you ever seen debris on the ground and thought, “That would be a good chore for someone else to do,” and then forget to ask them but still not take care of it yourself?  I HAVE

Have you ever gotten irritated with someone else because they didn’t do what you never asked them to, but neither did you?  I HAVE

The Lord put me in my place this week.  As I settled in to do an undesirable task, I had the beginnings of resentment & self-pity brewing in my mind.  I was refilling our bird suet log feeders – a VERY MESSY job, and I was having some difficulty with it.  I knew the direction my mind was going was NOT GOOD, so I looked UP out of desperation AND for strength.  (A habit we are all trying to get into…)

Psalm 121

 ¹ I lift up my eyes to the hills—
   where does my help come from?
² My help comes from the LORD,
   the Maker of heaven and earth.

 ³ He will not let your foot slip—
   He who watches over you will not slumber;
⁴ indeed, He who watches over Israel
   will neither slumber nor sleep.

 ⁵ The LORD watches over you—
   the LORD is your shade at your right hand;
⁶ the sun will not harm you by day,
   nor the moon by night.

 ⁷ The LORD will keep you from all harm—
   He will watch over your life;
⁸ the LORD will watch over your coming and going
   both now and forevermore.

What did the Lord focus my eyes on as I glanced back toward my project?  THE DEBRIS IN MY DRIVEWAY THAT I HAVE BEEN NEGLECTING ALL WEEK!

Many vehicles come in and out of our driveway, and sometimes things fall out when doors open.  Well, there has been a plastic knife laying in our driveway, but I have been TOO LAZY to pick it up each time I have walked by it.  Instead, I would think about it, delegate it in my mind, and ultimately:  do nothing about it.  I couldn’t help but smile, as I realized that, yes, the Lord was using TRASH to teach me a lesson, lol!  You see, the problem I was having with refilling my feeders, had to do with breaking the replacement suet into small enough chunks to fit into the holes on the log.  The suet was still hard enough that I could not use my hands to break it up.  My hands were “suet-ty” and I didn’t want to go back in the house… SO, you guessed it – I went & got that plastic knife from the driveway, and it worked like a charm!  🙂

Lord, thank You for having such great patience with me!  I’m ashamed at how often I allow my selfish & lazy attitude to keep me from doing what I know is right.  I love Your sense of humor – that You can use “debris” to crack my stubborn pride.  Strengthen my hands, O Lord, to focus more on what I can change about myself to be more like Jesus, rather than how I think You need to change other people.  I also realize that unless I can progress in these “little scenarios”, You cannot entrust to me the larger tasks for Your Kingdom.  I can see the blessings in being refined – USE ME LORD, TO FULFILL YOUR WILL.  Amen.