God’s Thoughts to Me
Don’t store up treasures here on earth, where moths eat them and rust destroys them and where thieves break in and steal. Store your treasures in heaven (Matthew 6:19-20, NLT).
Introduction
Today I am honored to introduce my friend, Floyd Samons.
I was unable to write this week and Floyd kindly agreed to write a guest post. He has a great sense of humor and I have giggled through many of his posts even when it was about a serious subject.
Floyd and his family live in Phoenix, Arizona. To visit his blog just click on his picture.
COWBOY BOOTS, THE NIGHT, AND THE BUICK
For the life of me, I can’t figure out why or how I could have been so excited, but I most certainly was. I’m talking about Disneyland type of excited. That’s the beauty of being a kid I guess: little things and first time occasions are unparalleled in life.
I can’t recall the exact occasion, but it must have been my birthday, which had to be around my sixth or seventh one. As near as I can figure, my over reaching excitement must have had to do with the games we played as kids. We loved playing Army and the terraced lots of the houses on our block made for perfect pretend bunkers, but they also worked well for our all time favorite past time, Cowboys and Indians.
I’m not sure I even knew at the time I had a small percentage of Native American blood coursing through my veins. It wouldn’t have mattered anyway, all the kids on our block took turns, but we all wanted to be on the Cowboy side of the pretend battles. It must have been my certainty that my new birthday gift would make me a “shoe in” for the full time position of “Cowboy” that had me so juiced up.
I was instantly transformed from kid into a real life Cowboy the second I slipped on those brand new tan cowboy boots with the fancy stichin’ over the toes. My parents had to be pretty stoked too, seeing what a hit my first pair of cowboy boots turned out to be. They even let me do what was off limits and forbidden for me at the time; go outside after dark…
I was so excited to show my friend Davy, who lived down the block, I just couldn’t wait for the sun of another day. After pleading with my parents for a time they gave into my unbridled excitement and turned me loose into the night.
The cool night air felt good against my face as I ran full stride down the street. I still remember thinking how cool my new boots looked as I watched them strike against the pavement while I passed under the street light poles. I could have run forever or until those boots wore out – I was just that giddy.
I continued to marvel at my new footwear as they carried me heroically through the damp California night air toward Davy’s house. It’s funny how we get so enamored with the material things of this world. Even necessities, like shoes, take on a passion or weakness all to themselves. We begin to focus so much on the things of this world that we lose sight of the big picture.
Taking our focus off the important issues in life always leads to a dead end or disaster. If we’re not watching the paths of our lives and looking out for the dangers and pitfalls, they sneak up on us. Being too smitten by possessions in our world tends to make us watch and consider how we look instead of where we’re going.
Losing sight of the big picture and eventual destination gets folks lost and sometimes hurt. I’ve learned that lesson so often in life it’s downright scary. When we seek the will of our Father, He makes our paths straight and narrow. When we take our eyes off of Him and the path He’s set us on, trouble’s not far down the road.
Just like that parked 58’ Buick that stopped me dead in my tracks the night I got my first pair of cowboy boots…
Thank you, dear Floyd, for taking the ordinary to remind us to keep our focus on eternity.
Much love and sweet blessings
Mia