The Lawn
One day as I stood at my kitchen sink, I looked out the window in front of me admiring the freshly mowed lawn. It was a bright June day; before the heat of the summer sun had scorched the grass. The clouds, billowing across the sky, accented the beauty I beheld.
As I admired the scene, I began to hear my Father’s voice flowing into my mind. He seemed to say,” Beautiful, isn’t it?’ I then realized that I could only admire the beauty of this scene but not partake or experience it. This realization took me on a life experience analogy.
As long as I just stood there and observed the lawn I was only a spectator. To experience it I would have to physically stand, walk, run or lie in it. Then Father said,”Life is like the lawn… You can stand at a distance and observe it and never experience it.” He continued to teach me a principle about the ‘lawn of life’. He said the beauty you see is not the actuality of the experience. It is an illusion. From your window it looks perfect, but in reality there are flaws. The ground is uneven, there are holes dug by snakes, moles and other little animals. As you walk you must watch your step to keep from falling or injuring yourself. There are droppings from the pets, often hidden until you happen to step in, or just miss stepping into it. All of these things are a part of experiencing the lawn.
He said when you come to a pile of dung, you can step over it, or step in it. If you step over it, you can continue on and enjoy your experience; if you step in it, even if you are unaware of your misstep, others know immediately. So, now you have to deal with the dung. The best thing to do is wash it off as soon as possible. Rubbing it in the grass does not get it off, it amplifies the dung with the smell of grass and dung.
As I compare life to the picture of the lawn, I acknowledged that in life you can be a spectator. You can sit on the sidelines and admire other people’s lives, possessions or their accomplishments, etc. You can imagine a perfection that does not exist. To experience life, you have to get out and live it. There are some things out there that can trip you up, things that can cause you pain, but some things you need to just step over and keep walking. To be sure, there will be times when you step in it… It’s smells bad, but it is not the end of the world. Get cleaned up and go at it again.
Father has always made it clear that no matter what I find myself in, He has all of the answers to get me out if I just ask for His help.
