Christian Devotionals and Scripture Applied to Everyday Life

I have always had a fascination with hands. For some reason I tend to always take special notice of this important part of people's body. I believe you can tell a lot about someone from his or her hands. Some hands are very soft and well taken care of. Others have work-worn hands which can often indicate the type of work they do. Those with grease stains probably work with cars or equipment, while those with dirt under the fingernails may be gardeners or farmers. 

Do you ever worry about what people might think? This is a common problem that so many of us experience. We are so afraid of others' perceptions that we allow our fears to dictate how we act or don't act.

I was headed down our road when some baby foxes darted across the neighbor's yard. I jammed on the brakes and watched as they dove into the culvert at the side of the road. Fascinated, I stopped the car by the duct, rolled down the window and waited patiently, camera in hand. Sure enough, after a short interval, I saw upright triangle ears and a pointed nose peep up to see if the coast was clear. I quickly snapped my photo.

I tiptoed down the stairs to my quiet spot, lit my pear candle, and tried to pray. But my mind was cluttered with frustrations and concerns that made it hard to concentrate.

ChAoS met me on Thursday morning as I stepped through our office door. My desk was gone and in its place was an 8- foot folding table piled high with an assortment of equipment. Calculators, books, staplers, stamps, and a mound of paperwork and files cluttered the surface area. Somewhere under the mass my computer keyboard was hidden, recognizable only by the cord that hung over the side of the table. My computer itself was lifeless - the tangle of wires and electrical cords covering the floor reminded me of a tree that had been uprooted in a wild storm. 

How do you keep from veering off course when life gets tough? Things seem to be going along smoothly and all of a sudden a difficult trial pops up and makes our life-race hard. At first our faith may be strong, but as the uphill battle continues our trust in God can waver, our pace slow, and perhaps we are even tempted to give up and sit down on the sidelines. There is only one thing that can keep us headed in the right direction - our focus.