Debbie Slaughter: The Grass is Always Greener. Southeast Texas Christian Guest Blogger

On today’s edition of SETX Christian News, we are pleased to share an excerpt from the popular Southeast Texas Christian blog “A Million Skies”.

The blog is published by Debbie Slaughter, who shares her keen insights on a wide range of topics of interest to Southeast Texas Christian families, women, and moms in particular.

She is especially known for sharing her experiences with motherhood, homeschooling, Christian stewardship, and the challenges of being a Christian woman in the modern world.

Enjoy today’s inspiration from Debbie Slaughter and “A Million Skies”.

Is the Grass Really Greener?

Every time I see our horse do this……..I think of the saying “The grass is always greener on the other side.” Of course in this case, it’s actually true!

But, what you can’t see from this picture is that there is an entire field full of green grass, just a couple of yards away.

As simple as this picture is, it represents so many things:

First – We always seem to want what we can’t have!
This dumb horse is leaning against this wire fence, straining his neck, just to get a few blades of grass. He can barely stick his head between the two wires without having to do some fancy maneuvers, yet he is determined that it’s worth a few nibbles of the green stuff.

Aren’t we like that?

Have you ever jumped through hoops, manipulated something or someone, just to get what you wanted? Ever put yourself in a not-so-good situation, just because you thought it would get you to the other side, where the “good stuff” was? How’d that work out for ya?

Second – God always has something better for us, if only we would wait on HIM!
There is an entire field of green grass that we plant each year, just for our horses to eat! It’s literally just a few feet away from where this picture was taken, but the situation is……they have to wait on us to open the gate. Ahhhh, there’s the problem! They want it when they want it (which is all the time), and they don’t like to wait!

We let them in the field for a few hours each day, and they can eat until they pop. It’s all there for them. But, they get impatient and they start “pawing” at the fence and run the risk of getting their hooves caught (which they do often) and falling down and breaking their leg. But, they don’t care what the danger is…..they just want what they want, and they want it NOW.

Can you relate?

Have you ever stepped ahead of God; going after what you want (for some reason new cars come to mind here), only to make a mistake and realize you should have waited?

I don’t know about you, but it usually comes back to bite me, in some form or fashion, when I do this.

When will we learn to trust Him?
When will we learn to be patient and wait on the Lord to give us good things, in His timing?

He wants to bless us – but not with just anything. He wants to give us the good stuff; the stuff he purposely set aside for us to have. But, he knows that waiting builds character in us and he’s grooming us for something worth waiting for. He’s waiting on us to trust Him.

Third – When God leaves us somewhere, it doesn’t mean he’s forsaken us!
In the above picture, you can’t help but feel sorry for this guy. The ground he’s on looks desolate and all the good stuff is just beyond his reach.

But, the funny truth to this picture is that, the area he is in, is where all the loving takes place!

When we let the horses into their little field, they become out of reach for us. They run through the gate and we literally don’t come in contact with them until feeding time, late in the afternoon.

However, when they are on this side of the gate, we get to feed them treats, brush them, water them down, love on them and show them how much they mean to us. They are never without contact or attention.

Oh, how God does this with us!

When we are crying out to Him, in our desolate spot, He is so close! He’s right there; loving us, teaching us, (“grooming” us, if you will), providing for us, and keeping us close to him for a reason. Because, truthfully, sometimes we too, get into the lush, green field and we go missing.

We quit praying. We get haughty. We forget we need him. We forget how we got there.

We get so caught up, indulging ourselves, that we lose sight of the journey we were on and the lessons we were taught, in the waiting period. We forget about all the loving that took place there and all the benefits of being close to Him. We start forsaking Him. And He knows this.

So, truly, if you are in a desolate spot right now, feeling like the grass is so much greener on the other side, down the road, in the next house…….just stop!

God has you where He wants you!

Rest in Him, enjoy His attention, lay your head on His mighty shoulder and just take it all in.

Your time will come and God will fling open the gate and the field will be there for your taking.

But for now……just wait on Him.

Blessings,
Debbie