Full Armor

 If you’ve never been pricked by a shard of tin,

Then don’t!

It hurts!

This is why one should always wear safety gloves while deconstructing and searching through boxes of tin,

And why one should always wear shoes in the tin art studio.

I’m good at the former.

I have three pairs of safety gloves, and I use them as I should.

I’m terrible at the latter.

I have a gazillion pairs of shoes, but I don’t always wear them in the studio…

Which is why I ended up with blood dripping on the floor from a bottom of the foot tin shard impalement on Saturday night.

Don’t worry. All was and is well. It was a minor injury.

But it made me go put on my safety flip flops :-p.

 

…

 

Many years ago, a camp friend gave a message on the passage of scripture the speaks about putting on the full armor of God.

I don’t remember everything she said,

I just remember walking away from her talk thinking about wearing a suit of God-protection over my body.

 

…

 

On Saturday, I sang at one of my former youth’s wedding.

1 Corinthians 13 was read just before I sang.

The very end of the passage says--

And now these three remain:

Faith, hope, and love,

But the greatest of these is love.

 

…

 

I go back to work today.

I wish that I could tell you I was ready,

But I’d be lying if I said that I was.

Even so, I’m going.

And I will be wearing my full armor of God,

Complete with imaginary safety gloves, safety shoes,

And make-shift band-aids to guard my fingers from blisters.

 

I challenge you to put on your armor, too, friend—

Put on your faith, hope, and love…

The greatest of which is love.

 

Amen.