I enjoy the opportunity to work outside on nice weekends. I am beginning to see signs that it won’t be long before there will be plenty of fall cleanup tasks to be done.
The dogwoods are really starting to show some beautiful crimson colors. I know the other trees won’t be far behind. Regardless of the impending work, the cool fall weather is welcome.
I did a late planting in my garden, which is producing some good things to eat. Some deer came for a visit the other night and ate the leaves off my sweet potato plants.
They are trying to recover; sure hope I get some sweet potatoes this year. I have a few other things that I hope to enjoy but do not want to mention in case the raccoons can read.
I did a little trimming on the trees along the edge of the woods. When I finished I thought I would go into the woods and do some trimming along a path that I have been working on.
I trimmed some branches, cut down some saplings, and ran my weed eater along the path to clean it up. I even found some time to construct a little more of my path. Eventually I want the path to go all the way around the edge of the woods.
This is an ambitious project to take on by myself, but I work on it a little at a time. My short term goal is to make a path from my house down to a little stream at the lower end of the property.
I want to create a meandering, graceful path along the edge of the woods. It will wind around fallen trees and others that are too big to cut down. I like to be in the woods because it reminds me of my Scouting days.
While I was working on the path this weekend, I was thinking a lot about our call to follow Christ. Jesus doesn’t call us to follow him on a broad highway but along a narrow path.
My path has roots, weeds, fallen trees, branches and many other obstacles that need to be removed or walked around.
The more I walk and work on my path the more established it becomes. The more I spend time with God the better my spiritual path becomes.
As I look through my woods I see so much that needs to be done. I can easily understand how I might get sidetracked by other things.
In our walk with God there are plenty of good things that we could be doing, but if they are not the things God is calling us to be doing then they are distractions.
We have to spend time with God so we can know His heart and stay on our path. God has things He wants us to be doing, so we have to stay focused on His plan for our lives.
His plan will lead us down a narrow path to His heart. Maintaining the path requires work and devotion. The enemy wants to distract us so we will lose our focus on God.
Each one of us is uniquely made with a specific purpose for our lives. Our main purpose is to know and be known by Him. Then we need to put our lives in His hands as a tool and an instrument through which He can work.
Our purpose will bring great joy to our spirits and fulfillment to our soul. Being a loving member of our family and a good and supportive member of a church family are two fundamental purposes for our lives.
I want to encourage you to consider carefully what path you are on in life. Following Jesus requires effort. It will cost you because you will not be living for yourself.
It is a series of difficult choices between right and wrong.
It is a path of intimacy with a loving heavenly Father who will not allow you to remain the same because He desires what is best for you. It is a path with peace, love, and joy that requires work, faith, and hope. It is a path to the heart of God that I hope you discover.
Doug Creamer lives in Faith.