We often think of pebbles as small stones, gravel or sand. These are small things of almost no significance in our lives.
However, consider:
A grain of sand in the eye or under the contact lens,
A small stone that falls into the shoe when you are walking,
A little stone in your food as you take a bite.
These things are not insignificant!
We all have stories of such in our lives or family of an infected eye, blister or broken tooth.
As I carry the cross around the world and walk the roadsides and trails often I stop to remove a small stone in my shoe. Should one not remove it, it will rub and grind and break the skin and begin to bleed. Should the small stone not be removed, you will develop a sore and that sore will become infected and cause swelling and that swelling will make the foot too large for the shoe. This can cut off the circulation and blood flow and could result in having to amputate the foot. One could even get gangrene and die. All due to one little stone in the shoe not being removed.
This type of story is often told during war of forced marches by prisoners of war.
I wear contact lenses. This is very convenient for me but also has one big drawback – dust in the eyes. A big truck passes me on a dirt road blowing up a cloud of dust. Or traffic on the highway causes dirt and trash to blow up in my face. Should just one grain get in the eye and under the contact lens it causes instant pain. This pain is a warning! Stop now, don’t blink and cut the eye, get the contact lens out Now! I am forced to stop and try to clean my hands on my dirty clothes and take out the contact lens and get the sand or dirt off. Now it is hard to see and I’m on the roadside with dirty hands and perhaps a bottle of water and more traffic is covering me in dust. Simply that one small speck of dust is now a real problem. My eye could be cut. My eye could get infected because the contact lens is not clean. On and on I could go you can see the problem is growing.
Often you get a small splinter of wood or glass in your skin and you don’t get it out. What happens? It begins to fester!
So in life, seemingly small things can become real problems if not dealt with properly.
Until I married Denise my way of dealing with most personal relationship problems was to just sweep things under the carpet so to speak. Ignore problems, close my eyes, grit my teeth, smile and move on. Keep on doing the will of God and everything will work out in time. I kept facing things that would erupt suddenly and it was difficult to understand. Denise taught me how to face things at the moment. Be honest, even with others and myself and then solve the problem at the moment. In my personal life I began to deal with problems like I dealt with things on the road or with others I was ministering to. My life changed for the best in a powerful and wonderful way. Denise and I live a most blessed and happy and committed life of joy and peace. Mostly thanks to her and me being open to change.
I challenge you to consider “Pebbles” in your life. Do you have any? How are you dealing with them? Taking off your shoe and shaking it out at the moment or gritting your teeth and enduring the pain until it cripples you.
Lets consider two things: yourself and others.
Myself:
Face honestly the problems. Deal with it in a Godly and Christ-like manner. Should sin be involved, repent and turn from your ways. Desiring never to repeat this again in the Power of the Holy Spirit. You may want to have a long sit down talk with ‘Yourself’ and then with your family member or husband or wife. Ask for their help in dealing with the issues of life in a self-controlled manner.
Don’t look for blame – Look for solutions!
Others:
Jesus said, “Judge not, that you be not judged. For with what judgment you judge, you will be judged; and with the measure you use, it will be measured back to you. And why do you look at the speck in your brother’s eye, but do not consider the plank in your own eye? Or how can you say to your brother, ‘Let me remove the speck from your eye’; and look, a plank is in your own eye? Hypocrites! First remove the plank from your own eye, and then you will see clearly to remove the speck from your brother’s eye.” (Matthew 7:1-5 in the Holy Bible)
I think that speaks for itself, what more do I need to add?
You may have a pebble in your shoe and you are in much pain but you keep walking and smiling. You may even feel that the main problem is not even yours, but there ‘is’ a problem. Just know, I understand! I’ve done it. I have gritted my teeth and walked many a mile with tears flowing down my cheeks, not from foot pain but heart pain. I just want to encourage you to start where you are afresh. Jesus understands. God sent me Denise and I praise Him for that. I now walk and live ‘pain free’ “no pebbles”! All Glory to God.
(A word for men. Just because you are a man does not mean that you are right at home. I grew up in an American home, attended college and on for a while to seminary. I was ordained and was a pastor and evangelist and took on many of the cultured ways of American men.)
(Men sit together in the front seat with the wife in the back seat. When you arrive at a church the wife goes with the women and the men ministers go to the office together. Churches and meetings pay to fly in the preacher but not the wife. Everyone’s needs are before the wife: job, church, meetings, the poor, the lost, the sick, the world.) I will stop before I get into trouble. Ha!
My wife is English and she more than anything has helped me be a better man by understanding her as a woman. We still after more than twelve years of marriage are asked at hotels and on airplanes if we are on our honeymoon. Our reply is “yes”! And we are! We have been together every day since we were married and still are thrilled to see each other and spend our lives together in love.
Let go of that ego and let God open your eyes. You could still be that man of her dreams!
“Oh, Lord cleanse my heart and mind and life and make me pure through the cleansing of the Blood of Jesus! Make me Holy unto God and good in my life and actions. Make me humble and open to your change and bless in all my relationships with others. Remove from me any small thing that I have tried to hide and make me pure. Lead me in Your most Holy Way. In Jesus Name.”
Pilgrim followers of Jesus,
Arthur and Blessitt
Luke 18:1