How automatic is your faith?

Thinking back to a morning when I was getting ready to leave for work this past spring, my husband warned me to be careful when driving. I was puzzled at his concern because I didn't realize there was a very dense fog covering much of the area and necessitating a need for caution.

As I headed east on Arkansas 340 a driver flashed their lights at me and I immediately thought they were warning me of something up ahead. It might be a deer since we live in an area where there are several small groups of deer, including some that live on our street and spend their summers eating my plants. Maybe it was a driver warning me about a traffic problem ahead or a reminder to be sure to obey the speed limit.

Since I was already going slower than required due to the limited visibility, I just kept my wits about me and continued on my way.

Fortunately, there was nothing out of the ordinary that I could see so I put the warning aside and kept going. The fog was really thick and before long another driver flashed their lights at me.

Deciding this was more than a coincidence it occurred to me that perhaps my lights were not working. Since they come on automatically when needed it had not occurred to me to check them out.

I was just a short distance from my office so I continued on my way and before long was in the parking lot where I discovered sure enough, no head lights! Fortunately I could turn them on manually and solve the problem for the moment, but I would need to get them fixed ASAP.

So much of my life runs on automatic these days that I tend to take too much of it for granted. How automatic is my faith? Do I begin each day thinking about what I can do to live the life God has planned for me or do I just barrel along doing the things on my list and on my calendar?

When my lights weren't working, others tried to help make me aware, to help me understand. When my faith isn't working, God tries to make me aware and help me understand. My job is to listen to what He says.

I can turn the car lights on with a switch, and I can turn God on with a prayer. Those who wanted to help me flashed their lights. God sends His message in many ways and it is my job to hear it.

Others are there for me and I can be there for them. Together we can make a bigger difference than each one by ourselves. If we all work with God, we can make all the difference in the world.

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Burgess moved to Bella Vista in 1995. She considers each day a gift -- although some are more fun to open than others.

Community on 04/22/2015