Life Truths

I’m a baby and I’m not afraid to admit it.  The only problem is that I married an RN so my level of sympathy on the home front is minimal when I’m under the weather.  My ailment lately has been some sort of poison all over my skin.  Basically, if there is anything in the air, growing out of the ground or any other kind of poison in a 15 mile radius I’m going to bubble up, swell up, and itch like dog with fleas.  Not only is it obnoxious to me but it is rather gross to look upon.

I crawled into bed last night and informed my wife that I feel like a leper…she chuckled.  I scratch…she chuckles.  I medicate with caladryl, special soaps, steroid creams and pills and she chuckles.  This from a woman who has never really had poison ivy in her life.  Actually I get yelled at more than sympathy.  “Quit itching!”  “You’re making it worse!”  “That’s gross!”  Ah, married life.  I get no sympathy but I do get some oohs and aahs over the seeping puss and bubbling flesh.  Not sure why I married a nurse.  Guess she saves all her sympathy for a paycheck.

It does remind me how dependent we are on God.  How one little thing can cause chaos in our life.  A child that gets sick.  A paycheck that is late in coming.  Skin that is irritated beyond comprehension.  I’m glad that He cares enough to work through it all.  In Exodus God informed Moses that He had “heard the cries” of His people and He was ready to act.  Honestly, I’m not sure how people get through life without knowing personally the God who desires to rescue them from life, death and themselves.  Cry out to Him and allow Him to be your balm or healing now and forever.

I live on a hill.  An obnoxious little hill that has it’s share of blessings and curses.  The blessing is that most people who want to try and sell you something at your front door think twice about it and usually move on.  This is fine by me because I don’t need to buy vacuum cleaners or security systems.  Why would I need a security system when even the thiefs won’t climb this freaky driveway.

It is a curse for snows and mows.  (Nice rhyme, eh?)  I have the rock salt market cornered in central PA.  If I didn’t we would never get to work to pay for the rock salt.  Mowing is just as rediculous.  It feels like you’re mowing uphill no matter which direction you go.  It’s wierd – kinda freaky actually.  And to top it all off  my self-propelled mower lost its self-propeller.  Now it’s a tank on wheels.  I’m not handy with engines or machinery and I don’t have extra cash so I’m pushin’ it all over the hill.  Even more ironic is that since this mower was once self-propelled it’s like twice as heavy as a normal mower.  So now my hefty rear is pushing a mower twice the normal weight all around my yard.  My back’s killing me but my quads and biceps are coming along nicely.

Yesterday when I was mowing I pictured that Greek mythology figure that was punished by always pushing the rock uphill.  That’s what I felt like – always pushing this huge brick on wheels uphill.  But it reminded me that my life doesn’t have to be like that.  I know a lot of people that feel like they are destined to push uphill for all eternity.  God set us free from this feeling if we allow Him.  The Bible says that there is now no more condemnation for those that are in Christ Jesus.  Simply put…Jesus took the eternal hill away and gave us a self-propelled life. 

That’s something to be thankful for the next time I’m buying rock salt.