Pebble

Almost 50 years ago I was in the Boy Scouts. We are scheduled to go on a hike of almost 20 miles. To prepare we read some things to help us. One of the things I remember was “putting a pebble in your mouth, under your tongue, helps prevent thirst”. Of course we tried this, my cousins and I. We found it worked and none of us swallowed the pebble by accident.

Earlier this week I spent two days waiting for a call back from the neurologist. It was for my mouth pain. I found that waiting for the call changed my behavior considerably. Everything I did I had to consider “what if they call while I’m doing this”. I didn’t go far my phone for two days. This reminded me of our hope as Christians. I remembered these verses – “how ye turned to God from idols to serve the living and true God; And to wait for his Son from heaven, whom he raised from the dead, even Jesus, which delivered us from the wrath to come.” 1 Thessalonians 1:7, 9-10 KJV

The portion “to wait for his son from heaven” has been the pebble in my mouth so to speak. I have thought on this verse all week. It is these pebbles that have kept me from having a “thirsty soul” for many years. One does not need to memorize large portions of Scripture to get the benefit of just a small section.