You find a man who is heedless of others and it will often carry over into other things. And the wild country, the desert and the mountains, leaves one very little margin for survival. You ride down a corridor, and as long as you stay within the limits you are safe. But if you get out of line you’re in trouble.”
–Louis L’Amour (Where the Long Grass Blows)
“Be strong and very courageous. Be careful to obey all the instructions Moses gave you. Do not deviate from them, turning either to the right or to the left. Then you will be successful in everything you do.”
–Joshua 1:7 (NLT)
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A person can get careless along the way. It’s important to watch where you’re going, where you place your feet on the trail. Looking around, getting distracted, can cause you to stumble and maybe even get hurt. The eyes must be on the road when driving, not looking at the sights, or at your cell phone.
Trouble seems to come when distractions gain our attention rather than making it to the destination safe and sound. We have a guide, the Holy Spirit to help us on our journey. However, it takes listening to His instruction to make it to the final destination. If we do not listen to His instructions we can find ourselves in a world of hurt. If we do not heed the Guide, we can get lost, but “as long as we stay within in the limits we are safe.”
Often, we push the limits. We want to just put our toe over the line. We want to see the sights. A few years back, I was driving over Cumberland Pass in my ol’ Dodge Dakota. It was raining, snowing, sleeting, and the road was becoming more and more muddy. I had to keep my complete attention on the road in front of me. But eventually we reached the summit and the clouds finally broke and we had decent weather for our decent. It was a time that I could not afford to be distracted by anything else. I couldn’t turn to the right or the left. The journey demanded my total concentration.
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Smile: This is for parents of daughters and the daughters as well. I came across this piece of advice a couple of weeks ago. It was written sometime in the 18th or 19th century.
“If a man wipes his feet on the floor mat before coming into the room, you may be sure he will make a good domestic husband. If a man, in snuffing the candle, puts it out, you may be sure he will make a stupid husband. If a man puts a handkerchief on his knee while taking tea, you may be sure he will make a prudent husband. In the same way, always mistrust the man who will not take the last piece of toast, but prefers waiting for the next warm batch. It is not unlikely that he will make a greedy and very selfish husband, with whom you will enjoy no ‘frown’ at dinner, no crust at tea, no peace whatever at home. The man, my dears, who wears galoshes, and is careful about wrapping himself up before venturing into the night air not infrequently makes an invalid husband, that mostly stops at home and is easily confronted with slops. The man who watches the kettle and prevents its boiling over, will not fail my dears, in his married state, in exercising the same care in always keeping the pot boiling. The man who does not take tea, ill treats cats, takes snuff, stands with his back to the fire, is a brute whom I would not advise you my dears, to marry upon any consideration, either for love or money; but decidedly not for money. But the man, when tea is over, is discovered to have had none, is sure to make a good husband. Patience like his deserves being rewarded with the best of wives and the best of mother-in-laws. My dears, when you meet with such a man, do your utmost to marry him. In the severest winters he would not mind going to bed first.”
How about that advice? I would say it boils down to this: get to know the person, his habits and character. Don’t be hasty. The journey is much better with two and those two in agreement.
Have yourself a good Friday, and enjoy your weekend.