Last Saturday Sheila and I relaxed at our waterfall with some wine and cheese and chips to celebrate a new book contract. In the midst of kicking back, I had to rise. Some rocks in the fountain had been moved. Honest, none of you would likely have noticed, but I couldn’t miss the change. Likely from raccoons or coyotes or possums or neighboring cats coming by for a drink. The birds bathe there, but their weight wouldn’t move a rock.
One shift caused the water outlet to splash too much, watering the rocks even though they’re not likely to grow. Others slightly changed the shape of the water flowing over the fall. So I tweaked it a bit and sat back. Ten minutes later I saw another issue, rose and tweaked some more from the back of the waterfall.
This time I got wise, and asked Sheila for her perspective. Better! So I sat and sipped a bit, and saw another issue. I then found a good sized stone in the bottom of the pond. So what’s the point?
We sometimes need to tweak our spiritual lives a bit. Nothing major. But we realize something isn’t quite right and identify it and change it some. Maybe our attitude. Or an action that we thought was OK, until it wasn’t. Or a relationship that’s needlessly on edge. Often, that process gets accelerated with a comment from a spouse or friend with more wisdom or perspective than we possess. Like Sheila with the rocks.
Maybe we’ve dealt with more important issues and God now whispers, “This one now.” We don’t need to pull out the sledge hammers and step ladders, but we need to tweak things. Just a bit. Why? To better reflect Jesus to others. To better enjoy being more like him.
Kick Starting the Application
Have a few issues been nagging at your soul recently? Not huge, but a quiet spiritual discontent? Why do you suspect they’re a recent bother? What caused you to begin noticing them? Or, does this post raise an issue or two you need to address? Do you have the courage to ask the Holy Spirit to give you a nudge on some things to tweak? And will you make those tweaks? Just a bit.