Risks!

Now the gritter comes!

Mary and I had to abort our walk this morning as the white ice on the road underfoot threatened to bring us down. We’re cautious about risking our bones.

The gritter has just roared up the road, spreading salt and grit and preventing, hopefully, any unexpected slips. But we’ve now moved on into our days. Opportunity gone.

Been thinking about living on the edge for Jesus. Taking risks. I don’t want to sink into a comfy chair and be content while there are still things I can do to help others. I don’t want to look back and think, opportunity gone.

My prayer today is to have my eyes open to see the risks Jesus is calling me to take, trusting that he is the grit that keeps me safe. And to have the courage and strength to step out.

Sinking deep

Dusty and I diverted from our usual walk this morning. Having followed her nose to the ‘haunted house’, she then lost interest and wanted to turn back, so we went through a field. There are two crops planted in this field, we’ve been told, and at least one has sprouted in absolutely straight rows. We therefore hugged the perimeter of the field – or at least I did – and when I got to the spot where it trails off into rocks and trees, I noticed that many of the plants along the edge row were no longer in place. They had slipped and slid into a wee gully, where the sodden ground still bore signs of a heavy rainfall.

Some of the plants managed to hang on and remain in place. But some were halfway down the slope, some all the way down, and some had disappeared altogether. 

Yesterday I was thinking about the story of Philip sharing the gospel with the eunuch on the desert road. Philip knew his Bible. He was able to pick up what the eunuch was reading out loud, and share the gospel from that point. He was confident and able because he was well grounded in Scripture. His roots were deep.

It is so important to be steeped in the Bible – not only so that we can evangelize or explain about what God has done, but also so that we don’t slip when the heavy rains come.

Because come they will, and a good grasp of God will keep us from sliding away.