Trickle

During the frigid winter months, living in a mobile home comes with special concerns. You need something called heat tape for your water pipes, because in the crawlspace between the floor and the ground it tends to get rather cold. When water sits all night and the thermometer only reads in the teens or twenties (or lower), it can freeze solid pretty quick. When water freezes, it expands. Pipes can burst, water gets everywhere. After it melts, until then, you just can’t get any water, or flush the toilet (ick).

So this heat tape stuff is like an electric cord wrapped around the pipes that keeps them warm, so the water doesn’t freeze. But you never know how well its working. And you never know when it might short out. So on really cold days and most every cold night we leave a bit of water running in the sink.

It’s just a trickle, barely a dribble, sometimes just a drip. But it makes a huge difference. When water moves, it stays warmer. Pipes don’t freeze, and we don’t get dehydrated. Keeping the water flowing is the key.

Our relationship with God can be the same. If we just turn the water on and off, it can freeze up. If we only pray once in a while, if we only read our Bible now and again, our spiritual life can stagnate. If we are in constant contact with God, even just a little bit, it can keep us warm, set us on fire with love.

How many times a day do you pray? How often do you think of Biblical passages? Do you have any committed to memory?

I want to challenge you to keep God present during your entire day, even if it is just a trickle. Very small things can help reorient our minds and our attitudes to God, and that can have a huge impact on our entire lives.

Pray at every meal. Not a huge drawn out prayer where you mention everyone and everything you are concerned about. Just say ‘thank you’ and remember that God is the reason you have food to eat. Pray when you get into the car, ask God for safe travel and put your life in His hands. Pray when you get out, to thank Him for the journey. Thank Him for the sun, thank Him for the rain, and remember that each and every person you speak to was made by Him for a purpose. Put on new eyes and see the world with God at your side.

When you are frustrated, think of how a Biblical character handled similar frustrations. Remember how many annoying people Jesus was patient with. When you have to do an unpleasant task, think of all of the stuff Peter and Paul put up with while spreading the Word. There’s an example in the Bible for every situation, and they can all point you back to God.

See how many ways you can incorporate God into your day in small drips. Soon it will turn into a dribble, a trickle, a stream. Invite God into your soul constantly, to wash you clean and renew you in His image every single day, every hour, every minute. Make God the center of your life, but don’t make it a huge, impossible production. Use small steps, turn the faucet up to a trickle. See Jesus make the difference.