Picking Thorns

A few weeks ago I went hiking in CA with my brother and sister-in-law (Head In the Clouds).  At one point, while crossing a stream, I slipped.  I quickly put my hands in front of me to break my fall.  My ego was a little hurt, but that seemed to be all...at the time.  

For the remainder of the week my hand was sore to the touch and I even had a little red spot, but I ignored the pain, thinking that it was just a scratch.  By this week, that little red spot had grown in size and turned angry.  It got so bad that I wasn't able to pick anything up with that hand.  It quickly got my attention.

What had appeared to be a scratch was actually a small thorn, deeply embedded in the palm of my hand.  It didn't take me long to realize that if I didn't dig the thorn out, it would become infected- that tiny little speck was going to cause a lot of harm.

Yesterday was Easter and the end of Lent.  This Lenten season has been much like the spot on my hand (Lint, I Mean, Um, Lent).  God has used the past forty days to bring several tiny little areas of sin to the surface and get my attention.  Just like the thorn, I have been faced with the choice to remove it or take a risk and let it remain below the surface.  You see, it's not just the big sins that everyone can see that corrupt and cause "infection".  The small things in our lives that are sinful often go undetected or mistaken for something else, but cause just as much damage to the soul.  Sometimes these are even the most dangerous.

Being disciplined enough to daily set time aside to worship God through obedience, music, prayer, sacrifice, Bible study and giving has really helped me personally hear from God, focus more acutely on things with significance, and work on getting the "thorns" out before they have a chance to infect other areas.  I, also, love how humbling Lent season is for me.  Easter is a significant day for all Christians, but at the end of an extended fast, the magnitude of it all becomes very personal.

"Redeeming love has been my theme, and shall be till I die."

-There Is a Fountain Filled With Blood-