A LITTLE TOO COMFORTABLE

It all happened so fast. There we were, my sweet wife and I enjoying a nice hot cup of, would you believe it, coffee? Sitting on lawn chairs enjoying the smell of fresh cut grass, noticing the hostas as they begin peeking through the freshly applied mulch and admiring the birds feeding in the surrounding bird feeders placed strategically throughout the yard, when out of the corner of my eye I spotted the cutest little toad sitting on the edge of an old planter my grandfather had built that was now almost overtaken by ivy. "pictures below allow you to see the setting" The little fella was just sitting there in the sun and so as we began to discuss how cute he looked sitting there with the backdrop of the ivy, out of nowhere BAM! And no Emeril didn’t show up, it was a snake! Don’t ask me what kind; because I don’t care…it was a snake! I don’t know what color, it was to fast. Don’t ask me what shape its head was, I wasn’t paying attention. All I know is, one second the cute little toad was there and the next second BAM he was gone! Poor little guy, he didn’t have a chance, and he didn’t see it coming.
I believe there is a lesson or two that we can learn from the untimely demise of this unfortunate little reptile. First off getting a little too comfortable can be dangerous. Ronald Meredith, in his book Hurryin' Big For Little Reasons, describes one quiet night in early spring: Suddenly out of the night came the sound of wild geese flying. I ran to the house and breathlessly announced the excitement I felt. What is to compare with wild geese across the moon? It might have ended there except for the sight of our tame mallards on the pond. They heard the wild call they had once known. The honking out of the night sent little arrows of prompting deep into their wild yesterdays. Their wings fluttered a feeble response. The urge to fly--to take their place in the sky for which God made them-- was sounding in their feathered breasts, but they never raised from the water. The matter had been settled long ago. The corn of the barnyard was too tempting! Now their desire to fly only made them uncomfortable. Temptation is always enjoyed at the price of losing the capacity for flight. But not just dangerous getting a little too comfortable can be deadly.
Listen with me to stirring words that the Apostle Paul shared with the early church.. “And that, knowing the time, that now it is high time to awake out of sleep: for now is our salvation nearer than when we believed. The night is far spent, the day is at hand: let us therefore cast off the works of darkness, and let us put on the armour of light.” And again “But all things that are reproved are made manifest by the light: for whatsoever doth make manifest is light. Wherefore he saith, Awake thou that sleepest, and arise from the dead, and Christ shall give thee light. See then that ye walk circumspectly, not as fools, but as wise,” interesting choice of words here especially. The word circumspectly literally means to be aware of your surroundings always, watch where you are stepping; there are things you need to be aware of for your safety’s sake.
True story, in 1969, in Pass Christian, Mississippi, a group of people were preparing to have a "hurricane party" in the face of a storm named Camille. Were they ignorant of the dangers? Could they have been overconfident? Did they let their egos and pride influence their decision? We'll never know. What we do know is that the wind was howling outside the posh Richelieu Apartments when Police Chief Jerry Peralta pulled up sometime after dark. Facing the Beach less than 250 feet from the surf, the apartments were directly in the line of danger. A man with a drink in his hand came out to the second-floor balcony and waved. Peralta yelled up, "You all need to clear out of here as quickly as you can. The storm's getting worse." But as others joined the man on the balcony, they just laughed at Peralta's order to leave. "This is my land," one of them yelled back. "If you want me off, you'll have to arrest me." Peralta didn't arrest anyone, but he wasn't able to persuade them to leave either. He wrote down the names of the next of kin of the twenty or so people who gathered there to party through the storm. They laughed as he took their names. They had been warned, but they had no intention of leaving. It was 10:15 p.m. when the front wall of the storm came ashore. Scientists clocked Camille's wind speed at more than 205 miles-per-hour, the strongest on record. Raindrops hit with the force of bullets, and waves off the Gulf Coast crested between twenty-two and twenty-eight feet high. News reports later showed that the worst damage came at the little settlement of motels, go-go bars, and gambling houses known as Pass Christian, Mississippi, where some twenty people were killed at a hurricane party in the Richelieu Apartments. Nothing was left of that three-story structure but the foundation; the only survivor was a five-year-old boy found clinging to a mattress the following day. Yes its true, getting a little too comfortable can be dangerous, even deadly. So is there anything in your life that you’ve gotten a little too comfortable with? A habit, something that’s addicting, an attitude, or maybe even a way of life is not safe? Whatever it may be, don’t get comfortable where you are. Remember the lesson of that little toad and go to where it is safe, come to Jesus.

Comments

[wes humble]

I found it! NOw I will read it each week.