The shade comes free with the tree...

Have you ever once considered...the shade comes free with the tree? Not me...wish I had thought about it as a teenager when my dad was repeatedly telling me that nothing in life was free.  You know I would have been grounded until I was completely gray if I had pointed that out.

Life gets pretty busy sometimes, especially for women.  Most work...cook,..clean...do the laundry...take the kids to practice...make all their games...and if you are one of the lucky ones you can catch Grey's Anatomy.  If you're not one of the lucky few then you drag yourself to bed with your mind still whirling around from all you didn't get done today.

This past week has been so busy around here...school has started back, so there is homework, chores, meals...you know the struggle.  On top of that we decided to take up a new part-time job, yes I mean we...well mainly my husband.  But it has been blow & go all week with doctor's appointments, errands, Friday night football game...I was so busy that I couldn't see how much dirt was in the floor. Just like your life, sometimes mine gets so busy that I can't see what is right in front of me.

It is so easy to forget in all the hustle & bustle of life to recall where we have been & where we are now. The Bible tells us in Psalm 46:10 to "Be still & know that I am God"...this has ALWAYS caused me more grief than it was meant to. When I see the word still...my blood pressure goes up, my heart starts to beat faster & I sigh, probably because until just recently I didn't understand this verse at all. I have had ADD long before it was ADD....kept me in trouble my whole life.  So the thoughts of being still doesn't usually bring me comfort.  I want to move & if I think I have to be still I want to move MORE!!

This verse really has nothing to do with rope, duct tape or not moving...now don't you feel better already? I know I do!! What David was trying to tell us was to rest, relax, be calm in the fact that God has brought us through some major storms in life.  He carried us when we were too weak to carry ourselves. See its a good thing to slow down & reflect to what God has done for us...in our busy lives often we forget where we came from. We forget that we are ALL sinners saved by Grace! We forget that we will never be perfect, that we will always make mistakes.

When I take a minute, sometimes 2 or 12, to think about how thankful a southern girl can be for a shade...I realize that a double back flip from Grace led me to a very dark place in life. At a time when I didn't have enough sense to save myself OR my kids, God took matters in his own hands. As if paying the price for my sin wasn't enough. He picked me up...dusted me off...washed my face & hands, prepared me a seat at the table right next to him & said "Go & sin no more" Sometimes a little sit down in he shade can truly shape your perspective & help you KNOW that He is GOD!!!

The shade comes free with the tree is a song by Joe Nichols & when I heard it, I had to just stop & listen. I had never considered that shades were free.  Out here in the country, on top of this mountain, there is no place I had rather be...I need to be reminded when I'm looking for a bargain not to overlook what's right in front of me. I sure won't look at a shade the same again.