Leaking

This morning I enjoyed some quiet time, coffee cup in hand, studying a little devotional book I found during my latest organizing frenzy. It's a stiff little book, with a tight spine that says no one here has ever read it, so I anticipated finding something new, and I was not disappointed. There in today's text, was a phrase that I have been turning over in my mind since I read it. Paraphrased a tiny bit, it says, "sin cracks appear, and vitality leaks out". Well I can certainly identify with that! My vitality seems to be leaking at an alarming rate, and I suspect that I am full of cracks. Stress, self neglect, and yes, sin have taken their toll, and I am running on near empty.

A couple of mornings ago, it was hovering around zero degrees (F) here, and we woke to no heat. In order to get the oh so necessary furnace back up and running, the guys shut the thing off, drained out the fluids, and tried to discover what was wrong. Fortunately they were able to isolate the problem, execute the repair, and get everything up and running before my houseplants were all dead. (Yes, it really was that cold in here!)

Unfortunately, repair of a person is more like heart surgery and less like furnace fixing. If one shuts down and drains the fluids to discover where the leak is coming from, the result is likely fatal. Thank God that I have a source of vitality outside of myself, and a skilled surgeon to make repairs. If only I will make an appointment to get the thing done. I am the sort that limps on and on for weeks, complaining about my discomfort, yet resisting the obvious, that I need to see a doctor. My spiritual life tends to suffer in the same way.