what I do

what I do

Sunday, May 29, 2011

Paint vs. stain

"Trust in the LORD with all your heart, and lean not on {rely on} your own understanding. In all your ways acknowledge Him and He shall direct your paths." 
-Proverbs 3:5,6


One Bible translation says, "and He shall make your paths straight." My journey has not been straight. In fact it looks a lot more like the road in the image above. I have not always trusted and do not always lean on Him. One thing I know for sure is that my own understanding will trip me up every time. And the more I think I know, the more I realize I do not know. My challenge is to not think so much. To be silent and listen. To ask and to follow. To remember that if He is my Shepherd, then I must be a sheep.

I read this today and thought I'd share:

"It is like that here. The terrible thing, the almost impossible thing, is to hand over your whole self—all your wishes and precautions—to God. But it is far easier than what we are trying to do instead. For what we are trying to do is to remain what we call "ourselves," to keep personal happiness as our great aim in life, and yet at the same time be "good." We are all trying to let our mind and heart go their own way—centered on money or pleasure or ambition—and hoping, in spite of this, to behave honestly and chastely and humbly. And that is exactly what Christ warned us you could not do. As He said, a thistle cannot produce figs. If I am a field that contains nothing but grass-seed, I cannot produce wheat. Cutting the grass may keep it short: but I shall still produce grass and no wheat. If I want to produce wheat, the change must go deeper than the surface. I must be ploughed up and re-sown.

"That is why the real problem of the Christian life comes where people do not usually look for it. It comes the very moment you wake up each morning. All your wishes and hopes for the day rush at you like wild animals. And the first job each morning consists simply in shoving them all back; in listening to that other voice, taking that other point of view, letting that other larger, stronger, quieter life come flowing in. And so on, all day. Standing back from all your natural fussing and frettings; coming in out of the wind."

"We can only do it for moments at first. But from those moments the new sort of life will be spreading through our system: because now we are letting God work at the right part of us. It is the difference between paint, which is merely laid on the surface, and a dye or stain which soaks right through."

{C.S. Lewis, Mere Christianity, Book IV, Chapter 8}

6 comments:

Kathysue said...

Love this post and the analogy of paint vs. stain!!! A wonderful reminder of where to keep our focus each and every day all day long. God is good and he loves us in-spite of ourselves, thank goodness!! Have a great long weekend, breathe, relax and Enjoy The Process!! Kathysue

Unknown said...

Thanks Kathysue!

Anonymous said...

I just found your blog and I am your newest follower! : ) I love this post....and agree 100%. One of my biggest challenges is being quiet to listen also....but He is great and will make my path straight.

Your blog is beautiful and I LOVE what you did with the weddings.

Luciane at HomeBunch.com said...

Sherri,

This is so wise and so profound. To not only understand, but to live by.


Love seeing your comments, my friend. I hope everything is good with you.

Have a Happy week!

xo

Luciane at HomeBunch.com

Unknown said...

THANK YOU 17 Perth ;)

traci zeller designs said...

That is one of my favorite verses ... and my paths have not been straight for sure. I'm bookmarking this post. It's one to remember!