I’ve shared many lessons I learned at the side of my father. My father was a simple man grounded in a confidence born of an honest heart, clear headed humor and hard work. Glen Day had no enemies. A man of varied skills and interests, he was fun to be around and was constantly sought after due to his abilities as a problem solver. His vast experiences and keen mind and experience with carpentry, electricity, auto mechanics, and much more were never without outlet as he sought ways to help people. Though challenged by distorted hands and continually bloodied and cracking skin brought on by the fire that engulfed him as a twenty-one-year-old young man, my father could work longer and harder, and more consistency than anyone I’ve ever met. He was a working fool! (I have often commented to my own children that they better be glad they weren’t working alongside my dad!)
One of the lessons learned while working with him was simple and yet lifesaving. Keep the junk around your feet picked up and out of the way. In his evening sanctuary, our garage, you could find him working up a sweat in suburban humidity of St. Louis where I often play a form of sous chef. I would hand him the tools and pick up the discarded wood or rags, electric cords, or any number of tools that would be just underfoot. This lesson was instilled as a safety precaution and I use it every day in my garage and in my life.
Psalm 119:9 poses this penetrating questions, “How can a young man keep his way pure?” In other words, how do you keep your feet clear and walk with surety and confidence? How do you manage stability in a broken world so in need of a master builder? The answer given in the same pen stroke of Psalm 119:9 is as simple and yet as lifesaving as my father’s workplace axiom – keep the junk away from your feet. The writer of the longest Psalm captured it in this way . . . “How does a young man keep his way pure? By living according to Your Word.” By living. By keeping. By committing. By holding onto. By cherishing it as a precious treasure. By realizing its significance and life altering protections. This Psalm contains another familiar and simple truth, “Thy word is a lamp unto my feet and a light unto my path.” (Psalm 119:105)
The challenge is to live clear-eyed and humble hearted and to keep the junk from under our feet. Junk? The many distractions, time wasters, which divert our gaze from the grace and mercy of God. The glory is that the Word of God will illuminate our path and an active relationship with God will enable us to live with confidence.
Simple prayers can be the best . . . Father, today I humbly seek You in Your word, on Your terms. Identify the debris gathered around my feet, destructive to my bath and help me deal with it, not allowing it to divert my heart from You. Amen.