Pretzels In The Park 12/27/2017

Good Morning,

The cold weather has a grip on us and my wool coat, gloves and hat will be working overtime to keep me warm. My travel mug was filled with Door County Christmas Coffee and I will be headed off to work when this is finished.

One thing that I enjoy are soft dough baked pretzels, served warm with a side cup of cheese or mustard. There is a park that I have visited which has a street vendor who serves them to the park patrons. I won't be dining on any of these doughy delights very soon. So why am I writing about them? Good question.  My mind was wandering today and I thought I could smell one of those summer delights in the hospital cafeteria at work. I was mistaken, but allowed myself a 15 second day dream to my place in the park and sharing a pretzel with Rene.

 

 

I am a mustard type of a guy and Rene is a cheese gal. Notice in the picture above the way the pretzel is twisted and pressed together. Once the dough is baked the only way to get it apart is to pull and break off pieces. You could say that once twisted together and baked, the pretzel is set in it's way.

Psalm 139:23-24New International Version (NIV)

²³ Search me, God, and know my heart;
    test me and know my anxious thoughts.
²⁴ See if there is any offensive way in me,
    and lead me in the way everlasting.

Friends, we all started life as soft doughy little babies and somewhere along the line we started to form opinions and habits. In some ways these choices twisted us into believing that these choices were the right ones and nothing can change our minds. We become set in our ways and the only way to change is to break our habits, actions or thoughts.  For many, this is a difficult choice to make and would really cause us to "break the mold". It might require a change of venue or friends. I know that if I try to twist my legs together and then keep them that way for a long time, when I unwind, it actually hurts to bring them back to the correct position for healthy legs.

Jeremiah 33:3New International Version (NIV)

³ ‘Call to me and I will answer you and tell you great and unsearchable things you do not know.’

Today's challenge is for each of us to ask God to show us the pretzels in our life. What needs to break? What needs to go? What needs to change? What has us wound up in a wrestling hold, keeping us from experiencing God? Our God is faithful and if we ask Him sincerely He will answer and show us.

Then  tomorrow we will discuss what we should do with the things God shows to us.

God bless,

Marty