Lessons from a mud pit. July 20, 2013 I experienced a first today, a Mud Volleyball tournament. There were 10 games being played simultaneously in 10 different mud pit courts. Our son-in-law was asked to play on the annual company team for this one- day event. Now, I did not go dressed in my Sunday best, I was prepared to have an occasional encounter with mud splatter. What I didn’t calculate was being splattered upon a great distance from the actual playing field. When it came time for game two, I pushed the stroller with two toddlers closer than I was comfortable, toward court #8. Let the games begin…….mud is going everywhere, and I to admit that at one point I thought I was getting sprinkled on by the looming rainclouds, that is until I looked down at Aiden (my three year old grandson) and saw the mud splatter on his cheek, and the side of the stroller and on my leg. Despite the fact that I got hit “accidentally” with a brown slushy volleyball by my son- in-law, the day was quite fun. So, I was quite taken back when in the middle of the muck and mire, literally, God began to whisper two things to my heart. One, this was a picture of what life is like. As we walk through life, we are going to be splattered upon by the world. No matter how hard we try to live Godly and holy, the ways of the world will impact us. This is why it is vital to have a daily washing from the water of the Word of God. It renews, refreshes and restores us, equipping us to be light in the world. Two, we are called to make a difference, and that can only be done as we are in the world, but not of it. This picture became so clear to me as I observed my two grandchildren and their responses to the mudslinging. Aiden inched his way into the back half of the two-seat stroller. He pulled the canopy over his head and by the end of the day even had his feet curled up to prevent any possible mud from reaching any part of his body. Basically, he cocooned himself. Rena, on the other hand, seemed to be bent on cleaning up any splatters she found, no matter the size. The packet of wipes that I brought with us dwindled rapidly, but she was so engaged. Wow, what a lesson! God calls us to be engaged right where He has us planted, to be actively involved with washing our world with the water of His truth. Nowhere in scripture are we called to lock ourselves away in a little cocoon. And yet, I find myself so often, wrapped up inside the “four walls” of the church, doing “church stuff”, that I barely have time to be out there saturating the world with the Love of God. “Father God, may I be the light You have called me to be in a world that is ever increasing in its need for You. I know you remember ‘my frame is but dust’, but so easily I become prideful and self-sufficient in my own eyes. Let me never forget my need for you and that you call me be to be washed daily by the water of Your Word, to prevent the grime of sin from dimming my light for You. God, thanks for lessons learned from mud volleyball.” Love ya, Ev
Posted on: Tue, 23 Jul 2013 18:02:43 +0000