PUT ON THE GLOVES!

     

       Okay, Raleigh isn't Boston--and right about now, that's reason enough for some running and "leaping and praising God!" (Acts 3:8)  But still, it's coooold outside.  In fact, a frozen birdbath kind of day here in the Old North State.

       Yours truly tends to be a bit on the cold-natured side...as in, I'd DIE if I lived someplace like Buffalo or Boston.  I'm sure they are lovely places...nine months of the year.
       If you are reading this and live way up north of the Mason-Dixon line, God bless you.  And hang in there--spring is just around the corner.  Well, not really, but it will be heading your way eventually.        In the meantime, remember that God, in His great wisdom, created hot chocolate, hot baths, and hot fires.  So there's that.
       For many of us wimpy southerners, however, temperatures in the 30's can be challenging, no matter how many steaming baths and mugs of hot chocolate we enjoy.  So I'm thankful today for gloves.  Seriously, have you thanked God for the gift of things like down coats, mittens, hats, and hand warmers (now there's an invention that deserves the Nobel prize, if you ask me)?  Another reminder of how often we take for granted the myriad blessings all around us...and quite literally upon us.
       As I was saying, right now I'm thankful, especially, for gloves.  You see, my hands and feet tend to stay frozen from November through February.  So warm boots and warm gloves are essential gear for maintaining my sunny disposition....okay, how about just for maintaining my sanity.  That's why I always keep a pair in my coat pocket.  In fact, I think I have a pair in the pocket of every coat I own.

       But here's the thing: far too often that sweet pair of gloves sits ready and willing to keep my digits from freezing to the steering wheel, but I fail to put them on!  I just soldier on, busy about my errands, all the while inwardly grumbling about how cold it is and how miserably frozen my hands feel.
       What on earth?  Who does that?  No need to answer that.
       Because how many days do we do the same thing spiritually?  We fail to "Put on the whole armor of God, that you may be able to stand against the schemes of the devil." (Eph.6:11)  We fail to put on that glorious armor God has given us to protect us, equip us, empower us, and enable us to withstand evil, to stand firm, to think right, to live strong, and to advance God's kingdom even against the very gates of hell.
       Why?  We're too busy...or too preoccupied...or too prideful to begin our day by spending time with the Maker and Giver of that glorious armor and ask Him to put it on us.  So we go out unprotected, unequipped, and unprepared to handle the challenges of our day.  How foolish is that??
       Put on the gloves!  Put on the armor!
       Father, forgive me, forgive us for failing to put on the armor Your precious Son died to give us.  Abba, thank You for Your amazing grace for all the times we forfeit that wondrous opportunity...but
 thank You for a fresh, new chance to get it right this day.
     Today, we choose to slow down and savor Your presence and put on Your armor, so we can get busy about Your work and do it by Your grace and in Your power.
       And Daddy, thank You for gloves.
       To God be the glory.