A Creature of Habit

 

I am a creature of habit.  And so are you.  Even if you pride yourself on being innovative, creative, and spontaneous, most of your days’ activities are done out of habit.  I slide my belt into the left side first.  Always.  I put my left leg into my trousers first.  If I make myself put my right leg into my trousers first, I have difficulty keeping my balance as I struggle to put the left leg in last.  My keys go into my left front pocket and my pocketknife into the right front pocket.  Always.  My tri-fold wallet folds to the left side last and right side up in the left back pocket with my handkerchief and comb in the right rear pocket.  Always.  I can eat the four-count mini breakfast every morning of the year because … I am a creature of habit.  Hey, sheep are the same way.  If the farmer puts a staff across the gate, the first sheep will jump over the staff to get out of the barn door.  The second jumps over the staff and each succeeding sheep will jump.  Even when the farmer removes the staff from the door and there is nothing in the way, the sheep will continue to jump as they go out the door because … sheep are creatures of habit.  Hey, it’s no surprise that the good Lord likens his people to sheep.  Jesus said in John 10:27, “My sheep hear my voice, and I know them, and they follow me.”  Hey, are you a creature of habit?  Do you follow Jesus.  If He jumps, do you jump?  I hope so.  And I think that following Jesus would be a good habit to develop.  Don’t you?

Surprise!

Five years ago, I had to re-roof my house.  My wife thought that I was too old to be climbing around on the roof.  After two days of hard work, I had to agree with her.  I just didn’t tell her that I agreed with her.   It took me about six weeks to finish a one-week job.  I should have hired it done, but I was too stingy to pay out the money.  As Granny Whitely said, “There’s no shame in being poor, it’s just inconvenient.”  One day I was up near the ridge of the roof and a mockingbird flew over from the other side just skimming the ridge of the roof like he had always done.  Except, when he had just cleared the ridge, this big human was suddenly right in his path!  I’m not sure who was more surprised, the mockingbird or me!  Hey, have you ever been surprised to see someone that you knew … in the wrong place?  Maybe you saw a cashier from Lowe’s at the grocery store?  Or someone from Chick fil-A shows up at church?  Or, have you ever been caught coming out of a questionable movie by your Sunday school teacher?  But then you wondered, “What are they doing here?”  Hey, don’t be caught in the wrong place.  Be faithful to the dear Lord.  Paul said in II Thessalonians 3:3, “But the Lord is faithful, who shall stablish you, and keep you from evil.”  Let God rule in your life.  Don’t be caught in the wrong place.  Hey, my wife would say that the roof was the wrong place for me.  And there’s a mockingbird that would agree with my wife.

 

A Dead Horse

 

I enjoyed staying overnight with my cousin, Gene.  He was nine days older than me, and I had fun at his house.  Gene had interesting neighbors.  Georgie was our age and was the oldest of many children. Georgie’s dad, Mr. S. worked a job and farmed on the side.  But he wasn’t very good at farming because he didn’t put very much time into it.  His animals were always sickly, and his fields were always overgrown.  One cold winter day, my mom dropped me off to spend the day with Gene.  He was excited to tell me that Mr. S.’s horse had died the night before.  Big excitement for ten-year-old boys.  It was in the middle of winter and the carcass had frozen to the ground down the hill from the barn.  A man with a truck had showed up that morning to haul away the horse.  Gene told me that it was a “meat wagon” and that they boiled the animals down to make glue.  I wasn’t too sure about the truth of the statement, but it was good discussion for ten-year-olds.  We watched as the man wrapped a chain around the frozen horse’s back hooves, popped the carcass lose from the frozen ground, and winched the body up the hill and onto the flat-bed truck.  It was an exciting event for boys to see.  Anytime I saw death, whether it was a horse or a dog or a bird, it gave me pause to think of the meaning of life as well.  I felt strangely sorry for the horse, but the horse wasn’t suffering any more.  It was an uncomfortable mixture of sorrow and relief.  Hey, horses die, and they’re just gone, but when people die, it’s different.  Their body is buried, but they have a soul that lives on for eternity.  And that’s a long, long time.  Hey, when your time comes to die, will you be ready to meet your Maker?  The writer of the book of Hebrews said in Hebrews 9:27, “And as it is appointed unto men once to die, but after this the judgment.”  I must warn you to make your preparations before your time comes.  Hey, message me if you would like to talk about it.