I Am My Abba’s Music

In my backyard, there are no less than four sweet gum trees. I don’t think they actually grow in the northern and western areas of the country; they may strictly be a southern tree. They are beautiful.

In the summer their star-shaped leaves provide a dense, cool shade and in the autumn they put on a magic show with their fiery colors.

The downside to these amazing trees is the "fruit" that they produce, locally referred to as "gumballs." There is nothing sweet or chewy about these gumballs. Step on one of them when barefoot, and their sharp prongs will wound you painfully. Stepping on them while wearing shoes causes them to shift and roll around beneath your feet and throw you off balance. My backyard is full of these menaces, and I silently curse their existence each time I take Bitsy Jo outside.

Recently, while engaging in my stick-gathering project I decided that it was time to begin gathering these little guys as well. Keep in mind that they have an almost twenty year head start on me; in the entire time since we built this house we have never tried to gain control over these little barbed fruits, so the yard is filled with literally thousands of them.

So now on my several daily outings to the backyard, I carry a little bucket with me and spend a few minutes picking up gumballs. For every one I pick up, I see two hundred more, but I am determined not to be discouraged.  I think if I can ever get them all picked up, then it will be a much easier task to keep them picked up; they are just winning at the moment. The bucket get emptied into my firepit, along with the stray sticks, to be burned at some future time.

Over many years, I have developed the habit of praying as I do tasks that require no thinking. Many of your names are lifted up before the throne while I’m picking up sticks or mowing. Many of your needs are brought to the attention of my Father, while I am raking leaves or mopping floors; I have a long history and lots of practice at multi-tasking. So recently,  I have been thinking about the prickly and sticky things in my own life: those barbs that wound others and cause needless pain.

I never set out to hurt someone intentionally, but while my tongue and my words have always been one of my greatest gifts, they have also been one of my greatest downfalls. I can wound someone with my words without even trying.

So while picking up those hundreds and thousands of sticky gumballs, I have given the Holy Spirit free reign in my life to do the same. I have given Him permission to do what He needs to do, to clear my life of hurtful things, sharp words, wrong thoughts, envy, jealousy and impure motives. I am being truthful when I say the desire of my heart is to walk upright before Him and be pleasing to Him. I want nothing in my life to bring Him dishonor.

It’s a hard prayer to pray, when you give God your permission to do whatever it takes. He has never broken me without my permission, but once I lay down my own will and allow Him free reign in my life, the consequences can be more painful than my barefoot encounters with these gumballs. But the outcome is so worth it.

So on this summer day, once again, I find myself on the Potter’s wheel and feel my Abba’s warm hands on my life, molding me and shaping me into what He has always envisioned that I could be. He is composing music in my soul.

uuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuu

Summer’s Facebook post from yesterday:

"Behold, children are a blessing from the Lord." Psalm 127:3