Serve the Lord with fear, and rejoice with trembling.

Psalm‬ ‭2‬:‭11‬

There is a flippancy that gets the better of me when I am left to my own devices and mulling about.

As I approach each new day, it should be with gratitude unending, yet too often it is with eyes and a heart that simply desire more.

Where I was humbled and willing, I become curious and confident. Where I was eager and submissive, I surge back to self-centeredness.

When have I trembled at the mere thought of the God who saves? How often do I instead pass by with barely a thought of anything but myself?

Sobriety brings with it the ability to reflect on more than just myself. But I’m not out of the woods entirely. I’ve still got the choice. And I often use it poorly.

The wisdom I find from those who have gone before me turns into a philosophical mess if I don’t in turn offer it to someone else.

Where can my service start? It begins in response to the truth.

Have I honestly reflected on the course of my life? Have I given enough reflection to the people and circumstances that have helped bring me here, to the safety of the present?

Love and service and fear and trembling become the natural responses to the truth. We were lost—deep into the woods. But now we have begun the journey back.

It took a lot of help; it took us surrendering ourselves…many times.

Now I have the opportunity to pay that back by how I live in the present, how I help others, how I speak, how I walk.

My life should point to the simple truth that I am on the beam, trudging.

God, guide my path, forgive my wandering.