I know there is....there has to be.......at least I hope there is....I came home this morning after a long morning of soccer, paintball and Adam being gone, to a bloody massacre in my dining room. Our dining room or more exactly under the dining table has become a place my family refers to as, "the killing field". I know it sounds completely morbid and beyond gross..but it is what it is. It is the place that our family cats bring in their prey and leave them either dying, dead or completely massacred. The last thing I wanted to see at 10am after an already grueling morning was, blood, feathers, wings, bones and a visual play by play of the struggle this once beautiful bird had. I sent the kids outside telling them, a sacrifice was laid in the heart of the killing field". I'm sure this sounds disturbing to many of you, but we do live in the woods and the cycle of life is something my kids live with daily. We spent the first few years trying to shield them from, "the killing field"...We have rescued many creatures in the midst of tears falling and hearts pleading for things to be different...only to have the creatures we spent hours and days trying to heal only fall prey to their fate..
Today as I swept up the feathers, scrubbed the splattered blood and once again tried to wash away the stains not only for my children, but for my self the harsh reality of life...it hit me...the lesson. The deeper one...there is the obvious..the cycle of life, etc.....but there's more. A lot more.
I started thinking about the bird...this one was different. The signs of struggle were obvious. I thought about the mice I have found. Obviously they didn't fight. The moles, bunnies, bats, frogs, chipmunks...I thought about the dozens and dozens of prey I have cleaned up under our dining room table. Then it hit me...my cat is me...or a part of me..it is my nature. It is neither good or bad..it just is. The prey the cat brings in is my struggle with sin. It's always going to be there. The" killing field" is the root. No matter what...my killing field is the root of my sin. It's always the same. Sometimes it's masked like a mouse and other times a bird..the truth is, I struggle with the same sin, the same desire, the same temptation all my life..no matter the form. The thing about this bird is it fought. Blood was everywhere..there was an epic battle, but like always..nature or "will" won. I couldn't help but to think of my struggle, my sin, my nature, His will. I know it is what it is and sin or "prey" will always be a part of my life...and the "killing fields" will always be the same...under my table or me struggling with the same crap just in different form. At times in my life I may be like the mouse that just crumbles during the chase, and hopefully other times I will be the bird...and I will FIGHT. I will fight the inevitable. It will be bloody and I won't go down easily...I will fight my own sin nature in the killing field...I may be lucky and escape for awhile, but the truth is I am the prey and I will eventually end up under the table. The truth is I will struggle with sin my whole life. Sometimes I will cave easily and not fight and other times I will put on the full armour of my God and it will be bloody...My only rest is in HIM my savior. What a sweet day it will be to sit as HIS feet.
Isaiah 65:19-25
19 I will rejoice over Jerusalem and take delight in my people; the sound of weeping and of crying will be heard in it no more. 20 "Never again will there be in it infants who live but a few days, or older people who do not live out their years; those who die at a hundred will be thought mere youths; those who fail to reach a hundred will be considered accursed. 21 They will build houses and dwell in them; they will plant vineyards and eat their fruit. 22 No longer will they build houses and others live in them, or plant and others eat. For as the days of a tree, so will be the days of my people; my chosen ones will long enjoy the work of their hands. 23 They will not labor in vain, nor will they bear children doomed to misfortune; for they will be a people blessed by the LORD, they and their descendants with them. 24 Before they call I will answer; while they are still speaking I will hear. 25 The wolf and the lamb will feed together, and the lion will eat straw like the ox, but dust will be the serpent's food. They will neither harm nor destroy on all my holy mountain," says the LORD.
Today as I swept up the feathers, scrubbed the splattered blood and once again tried to wash away the stains not only for my children, but for my self the harsh reality of life...it hit me...the lesson. The deeper one...there is the obvious..the cycle of life, etc.....but there's more. A lot more.
I started thinking about the bird...this one was different. The signs of struggle were obvious. I thought about the mice I have found. Obviously they didn't fight. The moles, bunnies, bats, frogs, chipmunks...I thought about the dozens and dozens of prey I have cleaned up under our dining room table. Then it hit me...my cat is me...or a part of me..it is my nature. It is neither good or bad..it just is. The prey the cat brings in is my struggle with sin. It's always going to be there. The" killing field" is the root. No matter what...my killing field is the root of my sin. It's always the same. Sometimes it's masked like a mouse and other times a bird..the truth is, I struggle with the same sin, the same desire, the same temptation all my life..no matter the form. The thing about this bird is it fought. Blood was everywhere..there was an epic battle, but like always..nature or "will" won. I couldn't help but to think of my struggle, my sin, my nature, His will. I know it is what it is and sin or "prey" will always be a part of my life...and the "killing fields" will always be the same...under my table or me struggling with the same crap just in different form. At times in my life I may be like the mouse that just crumbles during the chase, and hopefully other times I will be the bird...and I will FIGHT. I will fight the inevitable. It will be bloody and I won't go down easily...I will fight my own sin nature in the killing field...I may be lucky and escape for awhile, but the truth is I am the prey and I will eventually end up under the table. The truth is I will struggle with sin my whole life. Sometimes I will cave easily and not fight and other times I will put on the full armour of my God and it will be bloody...My only rest is in HIM my savior. What a sweet day it will be to sit as HIS feet.
Isaiah 65:19-25
19 I will rejoice over Jerusalem and take delight in my people; the sound of weeping and of crying will be heard in it no more. 20 "Never again will there be in it infants who live but a few days, or older people who do not live out their years; those who die at a hundred will be thought mere youths; those who fail to reach a hundred will be considered accursed. 21 They will build houses and dwell in them; they will plant vineyards and eat their fruit. 22 No longer will they build houses and others live in them, or plant and others eat. For as the days of a tree, so will be the days of my people; my chosen ones will long enjoy the work of their hands. 23 They will not labor in vain, nor will they bear children doomed to misfortune; for they will be a people blessed by the LORD, they and their descendants with them. 24 Before they call I will answer; while they are still speaking I will hear. 25 The wolf and the lamb will feed together, and the lion will eat straw like the ox, but dust will be the serpent's food. They will neither harm nor destroy on all my holy mountain," says the LORD.
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