ILLUSIONS

I had kind of an interesting early morning today.  I was awoken at about 3:15 AM by the sound of rolling thunder* and the pounding of rain on my roof.  I did recall that this storm had been forecasted the previous day and seemed to be right on schedule.  My first thought though, was the dog who does not like loud noises.  So, I jumped out of bed and went across the living room, down the little hallway and into the study where I found him huddled under my desk.

I sat on the floor with him for a short period of time to pet him and make sure that he wasn’t shaking.  He normally does okay with this type of thunder and seemed to be calm and somewhat at rest.  So, I checked my weather radar app and since it looked like we were through the majority of thunder and lightning, I reassured him that I’d check back in a while… and went back to bed!

The next thing I knew, I opened my eyes, noticed that my clock on the bedstand read 5:15 AM and realized that all was quiet outside.  Then I heard Fiver shuffling around on his bed against the wall and knew that everything was back to normal and copasetic.

I also figured that this would be a good time to take him outside for a quick backyard duty-call.  So, I rolled out of bed, put on some slip-on hiking shoes, grabbed a light hoodie and followed Fiver into the living room and to the back door.  On the way I stopped at the piano and turned on the piano desk light and stood there for a moment as I found myself captivated (what else is new) by all the framed pictures of Piper that I have hanging on the wall above her Acrosonic built by Baldwin instrument.

I was in a good mood and was softly singing some praise songs when I suddenly stopped, laughed a bit and thought… “Wouldn’t it be cool if I could just slip into each of those pictures behind Piper and give her a hug?”  Each of the various pictures told a story of a special event that Piper and I had shared over the years.  And it gave me a warm feeling to recall and relive the joy of each separate memory associated with each pose.

But alas, my reverie was interrupted when Fiver made a few noises to let me know that he was at the end of his patience and wanted to go outside!  So, with a happy sigh, we went out into the surprisingly cool morning.  I was immediately impressed with the just-rained fresh fragrance that seemed to fill the atmosphere in the peaceful, darkened yard.  It would seem that fall has arrived in earnest!

The Psalmist implored the Lord in Psalm 119:37 to, “Help me turn my eyes away from illusions so that I pursue only that which is true; drench my soul with life as I walk in your paths.” (TPT)

The word “illusions” caught my attention as I studied this verse later this morning… especially in light of my early morning activities.  The King James translates this idea as, “Turn my eyes from beholding vanity…”  Strong’s describes “illusions” or “vanity” as the action of “making a place bleakly and depressingly empty or bare.”  Brown-Driver-Briggs calls it “emptiness of speech or worthlessness of conduct.”  From the Greek it’s translated “folly” and is explained as “something that is devoid of truth and appropriateness.”

As I thought about it, I guess you could say that my dreaming about going into a picture on the wall (like in the Chronicles of Narnia’s “Voyage of the Dawn Treader”) and reconnecting with Piper could be likened to an illusion, a fantasy or even a folly.  If I were to spend anymore time in the illusion than the few moments that I did, I could easily fall into feeling sorry for myself, re-ignite measures of grief and be tempted by depression… all things that I’d rather not have to deal with again!

The latter half of Psalm 119:37 talks about pursuing what is true, drenching one’s soul with life and walking in the Lord’s paths.  All sound advice for those dealing with difficulties in life… and for that matter… it’s a tried-and-true recipe for success for just about anyone who is alive and breathing today!

I’ve said it a bunch of times in this blog before… and it’s worth repeating… I have seen and interacted with those who faced life’s dilemmas without keeping God and His Word first, having little to no faith, and being a perfect text book example of the Psalmist’s words in Psalm 119:37.  They became people beholding vanity and illusions, whose lives became bleak and depressing and sadly to say, spoke worthless words that were empty in meaning.  They often exhibited bad conduct and at times, said and did things that were very inappropriate for the situation at hand.

So, while I’ll continue to enjoy looking at the pictures on the wall and enjoyably remember the special event and tones of the occasion that a particular picture reflected, I will keep moving forward by pursing what is true (ie; God’s Word), drenching my soul with the life of Christ and stay focused on the Lord’s path before me.

So… What do ya think?  Will ya join me?

Have a terrific weekend and as you do... keep EXPECTING God’s best for your life!

 

*As compared to a loud bang of thunder, this variety sounded more like a train rolling down a nearby track… similar to when the occasional train ran down the side track in front of our country neighborhood in NC, while on the way to and from the Fort Bragg US Army Installation.