The Best Time to Dig a Ditch

"Carpe Diem", Seize the Fish! There is an old Arkansan joke that goes like this;

Q. "Do you know where the best place to fish in Arkansas is?"

A. "In the water."

The humor is that this seems like a silly question to someone from Arkansas because the fishing is good everywhere. This joke came to mind the other day as I was working in my yard during the middle of a downpour. It had rained so much that my garden area had flooded and i did not want all my newly placed mulch to wash away. I had worked the whole weekend before preparing my garden for winter and it pained me to see it all disappear. As I looked out into my yard at the shallow lake that had formed, I decided I needed to take action.

I could see where the water was deepest and I recognized that as the natural channel that the water was following. So I went to the end of the lake where a miniature delta had formed and I began digging a small ditch. Mind you, it is not deep (I'm no Paul Bunyan). The tiny ditch immediately started attracting a torrent of water. I continued up the slope toward my house next to my garden all the way around to the front yard. It worked like a charm. While it could still use some cosmetic touches and will ultimately need a more permanent solution, it saved my garden mulch.


Where you see a little stream running through my yard now used to look like Lake Erie (slight exaggeration).

So what is my point? While digging this ditch, it struck me that I probably would not have been able to dig it as easily had it not been flooded at the time. This is true for two reasons.

1. I am not a golfer, so reading slopes and greens is not a skill I possess. I would have probably ended up digging the trench is a location that would not have served my needs at all.

2. I am not a prime physical specimen and the soggy mud was actually very easy to move. I determined that the best time for shoveling dirt is when it is mud (at least where I live).

What does this have to do with fish? Nothing, but note that there is a best time and place to do things and then there are all the other times.

Jesus said that the Spirit blows and we really don't have the benefit of knowing what way He is going to come from or what way He is going to go. One cannot plan ahead very well when it comes to something the Holy Spirit is going to do in their life. Most of the time, you are just going to find yourself caught up in something He is doing, but you can learn to participate once you become aware. Learn to recognize when He is moving and rather than trying to anticipate His every move, follow His lead.

For example, the Holy Spirit may call you in a certain direction at a certain time. Our tendency is to try and work ahead of Him and get all the kinks worked out to make it smoother. The problem is that we are not always aware of where He is actually taking us. Direction is very different than destination. Often times, the Holy Spirit will show us our destination and we try to figure out the directions (and also the other way around). One of the reasons that the Holy Spirit rarely shows us both the destination and the direction at once is because we'd think He was crazy and did not know what He was doing.

We need to learn to trust the Holy Spirit; to trust that He has already worked all the kins out for us and that His final destination for us is the best place we could possibly be and that the path He has chosen for us is the best possible path for us. We forget that the journey itself is often what shapes us and fits us for the destination. Many a pioneer learned to live in the wild west because of the journey they took from the east. After the trains came along and made the journey effortless, people showed up who were ill equipped for the harsh environment. Many returned home because of that. Missionaries used to get over much of their homesickness n the 6 months boat voyage. Now it hits 6 months into their mission and they hurt so much that they go back home. Why is it so hard for us to simply trust that the Holy Spirit knows what is best for us and we really don't.

Think back through your life at some of the best situations and experiences you've ever had. How many of those were planned by you? now think about all the plans you have made that ended in failure and disappointment and you blaming God. Getting my point now? Next time it rains, watch the water and go dig where it tells you to dig.



Jesus loves Evansville,

David Warren