Daily Devotionals

Chip Shots from the Ruff of Life

Devotional: November 27th

Sneezing. No, you're not seeing things. That's the word. Sneezing. I was told one time that it is physically impossible to sneeze with your eyes open. Guess what? I don't want to try. The thought of all that pressure and then having my eyes open when it gets cut loose; well, I just don't want to try it. However, I have another little nugget of info concerning sneezes for you. If you feel a sneeze coming on and you're at the top of the staircase heading down, sneeze first, then head down the stairs.

This past Saturday morning I was getting everything together to go out to the church and practice with our youth for their big morning yesterday. As I got to the top of the stairs I felt a sneeze coming on. Instead of standing still and waiting until the violence had passed I went ahead and took the first step from the top and then sneezed in mid-step. A couple of seconds later I dragged myself to my feet at the bottom of the steps. My ill-timed sneeze had sent me on a rough and tumble descent of the stairs.

I don't recommend falling down the stairs for anyone at any age. I seem to remember I used to do it to entertain my kids when they were much younger but that was a very deliberate act that was carefully choreographed so as not to damage any body parts. At fifty-five plus years a tumble down the stairs can be a tad bit brutal and the aftermath very painful. I am still feeling the effects of the fall in my shoulders which, this morning, still ache. And, of course, we had to have nine foot ceilings which added one extra foot of tumble to my journey.

Falling is one of those things that sits in the back of our minds and kind of hangs there as a reminder of our mortality. The fear of falling is one of the top three fears we have today and stands just ahead of fear of death. I know why. In death you're dead, it's over, you don't feel anything. In falling you have the sudden stop that jars your whole body and threatens to leave you incapacitated or, at best, severely limited. Do we worry as much about our spiritual lives?

The Apostle Paul wrote to a very worldly group of people in the church at Corinth. He warned them of all the ways that the Israelites transgressed God's will in just the forty year span on the way to Canaan. He noted their lusts, idolatry, sexual immorality, tempting of one another and their complaints. Then he wrote, "Therefore let him who thinks he stands take heed lest he fall." 1 Corinthians 10:12 Only the most evil plan to fall. The rest of us have it happen out of a lack of attentiveness. Pay attention to your spiritual life. Don't let something as simple as a sneeze throw you headlong into disaster.