Shoveling Leaves

It happens every year, like clockwork.  Miraculously, the Lord does two things at once:

• Drops fruit off the tree for the deer to eat
• Sweeps leaves into one big pile on our driveway (by His amazing breath of wind)

All that’s left for me to do is to get out my camera for photos and sweep the pile of leaves into the trash — easier said than done.  Sometimes he piles up the leaves more than once and I have to repeat the act on successive days. It certainly has been a gorgeous fall in our front yard though.

I discovered a couple years ago that the easiest way to sweep up a pile of leaves on my driveway is with a snow shovel.  Imagine that.  It works.  

So whose ready to shovel up all the political ads and pundits?  How about the phone calls and arguments?  Do you get tired of seeing your favorite candidates slammed and shamed?  Is anyone ready to sweep away divisions, resentments and criticisms?  Who needs to put aside anger, disappointment and anxiety?

When all is said and done, we each have our own dark leaves to put in the trash — whether judging others, lack of trust, resentment, bitterness or a controlling nature.  

As Christians, we need to come back together and stand for our most basic tenets: 

• It’s all about Jesus, not about us
• He offers free salvation, forgiveness, love and grace
• He calls each of us to reach out and help others in need
• We are able to love our enemies and pray for them, because He first loved us
• Our strongest, most foundational trust must be in God — not in politicians, church leaders or our own plans and schemes
• He is in control, and His plans are ultimately for good.  He can be trusted.

It was he who gave some to be prophets, some to be evangelists, and some to be pastors and teachers, to prepare God’s people for works of service, so that the body of Christ may be built up until we all reach unity in the faith and in the knowledge of the Son of God and become mature, attaining to the whole measure of the fullness of Christ.  Then we will no longer be infants, tossed back and forth by the waves, and blown here and there by every wind of teaching and by the cunning and craftiness of men in their deceitful scheming.  Instead, speaking the truth in love, we will in all things grow up into him who is the Head, that is, Christ.  Ephesians 4:11-15