Idol

"Out of the heavens He let you hear His voice to discipline you; and on earth He let you see his great fire, and you heard His words from the midst of the fire." (Deuteronomy 4:36, NASB) This verse is smack in the midst of Moses proclaiming idols bad and reminding the Israelites that God's laws are for their benefit. As a Mom, the whole passage is one which brings to mind thoughts of how easily a parent can get caught up in one's child(ren), and that someone can become an idol if that person takes precedence over God in daily life. This is increasingly evident as our household ramps up for Back-to-School.

This morning's quiet time occupied all of ten minutes, but it will have to see the heart, mind, and soul through Cross Country practice pick-up, middle school schedule pick-up, athletic locker assignments, year book pictures, Cross Country team pictures, finding Middle Child a new swimsuit after she suddenly grew just in time for a water park outing, and whatever else comes up today for the offspring. Had that few minutes not come early today, this would likely be a day without an infusion of scripture. The Bible is where the voice of God is found if only there is enough desire to seek Him and the discipline to do so when there are many other distractions. (Many of those distractions are beneficial, but...) Really, no desire exists to get to that fire part that tends to singe one when the focus becomes centered on anything other than God. (Whether kids, self, activities, work...) In fact, I'm pretty content to read the words and commands given by God to the Israelites without getting them firsthand from the Creator who inspires no small amount of awe.

There was a time when I wondered with a lack of humility how the Israelites could get so much wrong so much of the time, but these days it is crystal clear how easy it is to become caught in the snares of activity and commitment that leave little energy for prayer and contemplation. For today, I'm just uttering a small prayer of thanksgiving for a start to this day that honors what I say I believe over the suburban American Dream the mister and I have been busy building for so many years.