09/11/2009 04:07
Puddle or River?
Today I fell in a puddle. That's right, a puddle. Wore a cute dress to work with a little teacher-y cardigan, went to a meeting after school during which there was a downpour of rain, and then on my way out the door, I twisted my heel wrong and SPLAT--landed right in a giant puddle! Graceful? Not in the least. And to think I'd been self-conscious at school all day that my skirt felt a tad too short! When I was sitting in a dank parking-lot puddle with my legs sprawled to either side the length of my skirt didn't seem to matter too much...
At least I was on my way HOME and not on my way TO work, right? It really wasn't that embarrassing; I'm used to clutzy accidents. But I did have to drive about 45 minutes home, cold and wet, smelling like... well... whatever had been in that puddle.
And then I remembered what I read last night in My Utmost for His Highest. Oswald Chambers relayed an extended analogy about how our lives can be like a river if we are in Christ. How a river is so strong and powerful, even if it's subtle and gentle at times. But most importantly, how a river is strongest when it's closest to its source. So for us, we are our strongest and most powerful when we're closest to our Source.
And it made me wonder: am I more like that puddle or like a river? Am I getting in the way; am I something to avoid? Or is my attitude and the product of my life such that people seek me out and therefore see Him in me? Am I helping to bring strength and life to those around me, like the river, or am I there to bring people down--in my case, literally down--like the puddle?
Not that it's all about me. Because it's not; none of it's about ME. It's all about Him. But it just made me consider how I've maybe been making others feel lately. Nobody looks forward to a weekend by the...puddle...right?
May I be like the River--strong, healthy, and powerful because of its Source. May I be more of a blessing to those around me than the puddle I sometimes feel like...