It was a beautiful, sunny, chilly day that beckoned me to take a walk outside.  I answered the call by putting on my puffy jacket and lacing up my walking shoes.  The moment I stepped outside, I could see my breath every time I exhaled.  Ahhhhhh, perfect!

Instead of walking on the pavement, I opted to stroll through the woods near my home in order to absorb nature and all of its beauty.  My pace was leisurely.  I was caught up in the sights and sounds of God’s creation…until I happened to look down and see it – the poo on my shoe.

Somewhere along my path, I had unknowingly stepped in it and now that I’d seen it, it consumed me.  The ground was damp and the poop was perfectly compressed within all the nooks and crannies of the bottom of my shoe.  Scraping it along the ground proved ineffective.

Somewhat irritated that my walk had been interrupted by such a crappy turn of events, I sat down on a log, grabbed a thin twig, and began to dig out the unwanted excrement.

After a few moments, I chuckled as I sat there wondering how often I’ve allowed the small, “poopie” things in life to derail me from the big picture?  How many times have I “become consumed” by minor inconveniences and lost my focus on what’s most important?

“Set your mind on things above, not on things of the earth…” (Colossians 3:2)

How often is our joy stolen because we get caught up with the messy and stinky situations going on in our world – whether it’s in our families, our work environments, or our church circles?  How many times does a person’s hurtful comments, a sudden change of plans not to our liking, or the callous disposition of a co-worker or close friend derail us from our eternal calling?

Set your mind on things above…

Life has its fair share of stinky moments, to be sure, but where we set our minds and direct our hearts determines how we navigate them. 

Compared to the beautiful walk through the woods that I had on that brisk day, the poo on my shoe was a minor inconvenience.  Nothing more.  God’s glory hadn’t changed; His invitation to continue to enjoy His creation hadn’t changed; the day’s beauty hadn’t changed.  Only my focus had changed.

His Word brought me back to ultimately what is always most important – Him; His Heavenly purpose; my eternal calling.

Set your mind on things above…not the poo on your shoe.

Until next time, Grace and Glory!