The Broken Sprinkler

“I am the vine; you are the branches. If a man remains in me and I in him, he will bear much fruit; apart from me you can do nothing.”
John 15:5

 

I live at home with my mother. She’s not exactly a handywoman, but she tries.  The other day the sprinkler was broken. She looked at it but didn’t know what to do. She left it alone for a while because she didn’t want to make the problem any worse, After a few weeks, she decided it was time to try again. She went to the hardware store to get a part, and came back and tried again. When she came back, she cut off the main valve to the sprinkler without realizing it was the main source of water, and it got plugged up!  
 When she told me, we both laughed.“Think of the parable of the branches. She said. “When we cut ourselves off from our source of strength, what happens?” 
  Mother’s right. How many times have you felt overwhelmed and said, “I can’t do this!” Did you ever stop to think that maybe you’re overwhelmed because you’re trying to do it all by yourself? I need help with things that most people would take for granted–like getting dressed. Without Jesus, I couldn’t handle the challenges of CP.  Who’s your source of strength?
Jesus, help me to always rely on you for strength.
Amen

Snap Out of It!

   

On Saturday, I went to a writers’ conference. The main thing they emphasized was that your attitude and your heart are the most important thing. Writing is a tough business and very tedious at times. If somebody isn’t doing it for the right reasons, it’s very easy for their thoughts to turn negative very quickly.
            To keep us from thinking or saying negative thoughts about the writing process, they gave us rubberbands to put on our wrists. We had to wear them all day. Whenever we said or thought something negative, we had to pull the rubberbands.  If somebody heard us say something negative, they could reach over and pull our rubberband for us. If we started thinking negatively, the rubberbands were there to help us snap out of it!
As Christians, our lives are supposed to be a ministry. I believe the reason we get so easily burdened by our ministry is because we are focused on the wrong things. How many times have you thought, I don’t fit in. Maybe I should quit. Instead, what we should be thinking is, does this fit in with what Jesus would have me do?  If we keep our eyes fixed on Jesus, He will be our rubberband. When we have doubts or questions about the wisdom of God’s ways, Jesus will help us snap out of it!
Jesus, help me to fix my eyes on you.
Amen