Band-Aids

 

I was late for cardiac rehab Monday morning, and you’ll never guess why: it took me extra time to put the Band-Aids on all of my cuts and abrasions from caving Saturday.  The nastiness of caving makes little cuts red and inflamed. Neosporin is the only solution, and a Band-Aid is needed to keep the Neosporin covered and in place.  I had a scrape on my anklebone, a nick on my right knee, and another scrape on my left forearm.  The stitches on my right finger rounded out my collection.  And no, I’m not clumsy.  It’s just that the cave environment causes scratches and incubates bacterial growth.  Normally, my body quietly heals daily scrapes and nicks using the antibacterial properties of sunlight to sterilize my skin.  But nasty cave bacteria can get a foothold without sunlight’s help.  Hey, that’ll preach!  Like nasty cave bacteria, self-reformation relies on human effort rather than God's grace.  It leads to pride, false spirituality, and ultimate rejection of the Savior.  True change requires divine regeneration rather than mere outward cleanup.  Paul said in Romans 12:2, “And be not conformed to this world: but be ye transformed by the renewing of your mind, that ye may prove what is that good, and acceptable, and perfect, will of God.”  Hey, let the Lord do the work today.  Let the Neosporin of the Holy Spirit keep you safe.  You need the Lord today; it’s nasty out there!

Carpet Knife

 

Last Monday, when I returned from Vacation Bible school in West Virginia, Marleen and Brother Carl had pulled out the old carpet squares from the Ladies’ Sunday school classroom.  Well, that’s not completely true.  With the new double doors, the Ladies classroom doubles as part of the church fellowship hall.  And some of the carpet didn’t easily come up leaving carpet stuck around the edges of the room and around the doorjambs.  So, I bought a cheap carpet knife with 10 carpet blades to cut out the remaining carpet.  Did I mention how sharp those carpet knives are?  (refer to the pictures)  As I was putting the blade into the carpet knife, I thought that I would have to caution Marleen about how sharp those things are.  But as I picked up a Crescent wrench and put it into my left hand, the carpet knife just nicked the top of my right index finger.  Blood spurted out and I instantly held the gash together.  I needed help.  So, I called to Marleen in the church kitchen and calmly told her that I needed her help.  When she saw the blood dripping, she went into panic mode.  We wrapped the injured finger in paper towel and made a trip to the E.R.  4 hours later I was back at church with 3 stitches in my finger (and a tetanus shot in my shoulder).  I was humbled.  Marleen didn’t need to be careful with the carpet knife; I did.  Come to think of it, that’s pretty much the definition of a hypocrite!  “Not for me, but for thee.”  Jesus said in Matthew 7:3, "And why beholdest thou the mote that is in thy brother's eye, but considerest not the beam that is in thine own eye?"  Instead of worrying about Marleen, I should have been worrying about myself.

God's Goodness

 

My back hurts.  My shoulders hurt.  The back of my arms hurt.  My thighs hurt.  My stomach muscles hurt.  But strangely, I feel satisfied this morning.  And the reason is that I went caving Saturday.  I took a group of twenty-something young people and spent three hours investigating tunnels, holes, and squeezes.  And the deeper that we went under Sand Mountain, the more philosophical I became.  All of these complicated underground pathways are there to be explored, but most people have no idea that they are there - right under where they live and drive.  I am reminded of the Lord’s goodness that gives us life every day.  God sustains us, but we are mostly unaware of His powerful benevolence.  Lamentations 3:22&23, “It is of the LORD'S mercies that we are not consumed, because his compassions fail not. They are new every morning: great is thy faithfulness.”  May we be aware of God’s goodness today, and may we be grateful to Him, is my prayer.