A few weekends ago, I attended our church's Women's Retreat. What an incredible weekend it was!! I got to spend time in the Word....alongside many of my closest friends, at the Bible College in Murrieta. Laurie Cole was our guest speaker (so anointed)...and the Lord revealed some AMAZING things to me! I came back refreshed and renewed....
However....
Some of my friends and I decided to use our "free" time on Saturday afternoon to venture off of the {retreat} campus...and on over to the Temecula mall. We walked around (leisurely!!) for quite some time, before heading to dinner at the Lazy Dog Cafe. As we were walking toward one of my favorite restaurants....I was "busy"...talking to two of my friends. I walked straight into a 20-foot light pole- with my face! I didn't know what hit me....and I remember opening my eyes and everything was blurry. When I regained focus (in a matter of seconds)....I noticed a nearby cart vendor looking at me...and then all (four) of my friends came rushing toward me. I immediately started crying...and I looked at the two girls I had been talking to....
"Why didn't you tell me I was about to hit a pole?" was my teary-eyed question for them. Obviously, they didn't notice it either...and I later had to apologize for "blaming" them for my accident. My eye (right along my eyebrow bone) started to swell instantly...and my head and neck started to hurt worse than they did prior to the impact! I had already had a headache that day, and I had taken some aspirin a few hours before. One of my friends rushed ahead to the restaurant, to ask for some ice. I couldn't stop crying. It hurt quite a bit, and I was a little embarrassed. When we got to the restaurant, ice was waiting for me...but I was too embarrassed to sit at the table with it on my face...so I escaped to the bathroom- to ice my head and cry some more. I finally finished crying...and I was able to enjoy a yummy dinner with my sisters in Christ (who were all so helpful and sympathetic!).
Why tell you the story??? Well....though I am a college grad, I often have some pretty elementary analogies!!
Here's my "deep" thought for you:
We need to be on guard (paying attention)...all the time!
The Bible tells us- in John 10:10- that the enemy (that'd be satan) comes to steal and to kill and to destroy (us). If we are not paying attention and on guard, he will attack us. We can be totally caught off guard...and we can allow him to gain a foothold in our lives! We have to be on guard at all times. We have to be in the Word...seeking the Lord's will for our lives! We need to be in a constant attitude of prayer, gratitude, and worship. If we are not...the enemy can (and will) come along and, ever so slyly, attack us where he knows we are weak!
That day...I wasn't paying attention...and smack!....I walked right into that pole! It has been nearly two weeks, and the bruise is pretty much gone, while the bone is still a tad bit tender. The enemy can leave us reeling for weeks- after an attack. He can lead us into temptation, and then on into sin...if we are not careful. This is a warning....to anyone who is reading this!
Pray- all the time. Read God's Word and seek Him first. Gather with other believers. Serve the Lord by serving others. Stay connected to the body of Christ.
In 1 Peter 5:8, we are told....
"Be sober, be vigilant; because your adversary the devil walks about like a roaring lion, seeking whom he may devour."
Don't get eaten! And...don't smack into a pole because you weren't paying attention and/or on guard! Maybe you need prayer for something....a sin you're thinking of committing (or recently have committed)....maybe you're being tempted and you can't see a way out and you're about to give in and give up....or maybe you're just walking along, doin' this thing called life...without Christ at your side! I would love to pray for you, or with you.
Email me: 2boys2love@gmail.com
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