Frontal Assault

The clip above is one of my very favorite moments from the show, "The Office." The humor is obvious, but it struck me yesterday (pun intended) that it accurately describes how I sometimes allow things to attack me. You would think that I would recognize the work of the enemy when it comes at me in familiar ways. I hope that I will be able to deflect the blow when it is aimed directly at me and yet I often ignore it until it's too late.

Even though I like to think I am on guard, I allowed it to happen to me yesterday. After I realized it, I almost couldn't believe that I had fallen for some of the same old manipulations. I've got to be more vigilant in watching for distractions and disruptive attempts. While I certainly can't guarantee 100% deflection, I hope that I will get better at recognizing and avoiding traps as I keep maturing.

Warning Signs

Warning signs exist to help us recognize and deal with potential problems. It's why our cars are now designed to turn on the "check engine" light when something needs to be adjusted or how there is a sensor that lets us know our tire pressure is low. Our bodies give us warning signs as well: blood pressure increases, heart rhythm irregularities, and referred pain that indicate physical issues. These are all intended to help us see that there is a potentially larger problem that needs our attention.

While we may have become more adept at recognizing the warning signs in some areas, I don't know that we see it in those that matter most. Do we recognize impending danger in our emotional, mental, and spiritual health? Do we pick up on the signals of potential harm and deal with them before they escalate? To address these properly we need to know what our personal warning signs are and be disciplined in addressing them.

If we don't possess the maturity to recognize and correct these indicators, we are headed for a more serious problem than if we deal with it at the first sign of danger.

Living on the Edge

Do you remember the warnings from cautious mothers-don't get to close to the edge! I remember walking along the wall next to a river or a canal and my mother hollering out this caution. In my years of mission trips to Arizona this was a common utterance from the mothers on our trip to our young, acrobatic team members climbing in the canyons. They were really only trying to keep us safe. Their intent wasn't to hold us back, but simply reflected the fact that they didn't want us to fall & be hurt.

As we get older we forget to have people around us who can warn us about the edge. We dance up to the point of danger and still need people in our life who can pull us back from the point of harm. As we fill our schedules we get far too close to the edge of temptation, burnout, selfish pride, foolishness, and financial ruin. Without proper balance & someone watching out for our safety we will fall. Just like a fall from a great height the abrupt stop might damage us severely or it can take our life. 

It's not worth the risk to find out if we can survive the impact. Just because God can restore our broken pieces doesn't mean we ignore wisdom & common sense and dance on the edge of the cliff of personal destruction.

Stormy Weather

Having grown up in Florida most of my life I am used to severe weather. We endure hurricane season, pop-up tornadoes, and powerful thunderstorms. Some of them are brief while others seem to never end. The best forecasters try to predict the storm patterns for us so that we can take precautions, but even then we don't always escape the brunt of the storm. After the storm is over we can survey the damage that has been done and start to clean up and make necessary repairs.

This isn't that different from the emotional and relationship storms we endure in life. We may not see them, but there are always warning signs of impending trouble (usually within ourselves) even if we choose to ignore them. Some difficulties last longer than we think we can endure while others blow through our life with such ferocity that we are left staggering in the aftermath. Just as in nature, we can't really make an assessment on the damage that has been done until it's over.

With both storms you've got to heed the warnings when they come and just hunker down until it passes.