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May 13th Devotion from The Lutheran High School of Kansas City

May 13th Devotion from The Lutheran High School of Kansas City
Posted on 05/13/2020
2 Timothy 4 verse 5

The Lutheran High School of Kansas City will be providing devotions for use during your daily Bible time. Today's Devotion is based on 2 Timothy Chapter 4, verse 5.

 “As for you, always be sober-minded, endure suffering, do the work of an evangelist, fulfill your ministry” 2 Timothy 4:5

Spring is here… although someone forgot to tell the weathermen. I don’t know about you, but where I live, I still need to use my fireplace at night.

Nevertheless, according to the calendar, it's spring. Time to open up the house and let the sunshine in. Grab a few dozen trash bags, go through all the closets and the attic, and throw away everything that has cluttered up the house.

I decided this spring I needed to clear the junk out of my head first. Only a few months into the New Year, and I already had too much on my mind.

I still had a lot of questions built up from last year. God, why did this happen? Why did I pray for this, and it still fell apart? Why, God, why? The questions were piling up, and no answers were in sight to help with the mess.

I can be the ultimate pity party planner. Just give me one problem, and I’ll sulk on it all day. I could feel myself going there one morning and suddenly realized I needed to get with it. Thankfully, God sent me a gentle reminder that He was more than willing to help.

The same day I got on the elevator with a heavy-set woman who had a medical boot on her leg. Thinking that she's probably been asked a thousand times what happened, I instead asked, "Is it easy to walk in that thing?"

I fully expected her to start complaining about how painful and difficult it was with this contraption strapped to her leg. However, she looked up at me and said matter-of-factly, "No, it's quite easy. I've had this on for about a year." Then, she explained to me how she's had surgery on that foot many times, and it didn't really bother her.

I know it sounds superficial but the first thought I had as I walked away was, A whole year not being able to walk on your right foot. No fun shoes. Wobbling all the time… I truly felt sorry for her. Yet, while it made me sad, she seemed perfectly fine with it.

Walking down the long hallway to my office, the situation started unraveling in my head. Here I was with the imaginary world on my shoulders, yet I was walking on both feet with breath in my lungs towards a job that I enjoy.

I started to pray, “God, I gotta get rid of this annoying habit of feeling sorry for myself when the most miniscule thing goes wrong in my day. I mean, I have so much to be thankful for, I should be skipping to work every day. But how do I do this? Where do I begin?”

I must admit that I am the queen of unfinished projects. I’m a great starter. Following through is a different story. Cleaning out the pesky demons of jealousy, ungratefulness, and general pessimism would not be easy. I wondered, How do I start cherishing my life?

I was being rhetorical, but as I turned the key to my office door, I heard that still small voice say, "You can start with every moment."

I had to pause and laugh at myself. Of course! The journey of a thousand miles begins with one step, as does any big spring-cleaning job. If I could take every moment and enjoy it to its fullest, letting tomorrow take care of itself, in no time I would look back on a life of laughter and love.

So I sat at my desk, turned on some cool jazz, and let a smile creep across my face as I began the work I so enjoy. The day looked better already.

I can’t say that I completely understand how or why my life got so cluttered, but at least I know how to clean it up. And it may never be finished but as God continues to perfect the work He started, I can at least enjoy the process.

I really enjoyed this devotion for a couple reasons, one being that I can relate to the woman that wrote this a lot. Just yesterday I was having one of those days where every minor inconvenience made me extremely upset and it put a damper on the mood and productivity of my whole day. Sometimes we have to look back and appreciate how blessed we are and observe other people who have it seemingly much worse but have a far better attitude and outlook on their situation. I definitely could have used that reminder yesterday. The other reason that I enjoy this devotion is because it actually is around that time that everyone would be spring cleaning their house and with quarantine in full effect, and everyone having no excuse to leave the house, it seems as though everybody has gotten into the deepest cleaning of their entire house, myself included. But this devotion reminded me that yes, it is easier to have a clear mind when the space around you is clear as well, but with all this ample time we have on our hands with the current situation, it wouldn’t be a bad idea to take some time to clear our head and clean out the negative thoughts. It's about time for a fresh start and we could all afford to leave negative thoughts, tendencies, habits, and memories in the past and walk into this summer with not only a clean home, but also a clean mind and perspective. 


Prayer

Dear Lord, give us the strength to take this time of solace and alone time to clean out all negativity and clutter from our minds and homes. Help us to get rid of the things and thoughts that take our minds off of you and the path you have set out for us. May our new mindsets allow us to see your message more clearly and may we help those around us to achieve the same feeling of clarity. Lord, we also bring before you prayers for baby Eli Ransburg, Ali Sanchez and Bentley Matties, Suzan Mikeska, Barbara Wollberg, KC Gloe, Pastor Paul Schult, Mr. and Mrs. Schultz and baby Stephen, Mrs. Rodriguez, All those infected and dealing with Coronavirus, Nursing home patients with no visits from family and friends during this time as well as those working in nursing homes and the class of 2020. Please be with all those we have mentioned and those who remain on our hearts and minds. In your name we pray, Amen.