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“Unless the Lord had been my help,
My soul would soon have settled in silence.
If I say, “My foot slips,”
Your mercy, O Lord, will hold me up.
In the multitude of my anxieties within me,
Your comforts delight my soul.”
Psalm 94:17-19 (NKJV)

There is an enemy in our midst.

“The thief does not come except to steal, and to kill, and to destroy. I have come that they may have life, and that they may have it more abundantly.”
John 10:10 (NKJV)

Trying to find any sign of life through the terrible Texas heat of the summer, on a recent trip around the yard, movement caught my eye.

There on a damaged, green leaf of what should have been a beautiful, blooming hibiscus plant, an evil enemy had come to call.

Seeming to have no fear, this enemy stared me down. Every time I moved, he quickly shifted his position to stay hidden from my sight.

The enemy of this beautiful plant was a grasshopper.

Destructive evidence of his presence was already seen on most of the leaves of this once-beautiful plant.

If left unattended, this enemy will destroy this plant leaf-by-leaf.

It takes strong offensive action to

stop the progress of his destruction.

Our enemy – the joy robber

Since the homegoing of my husband six years ago, I have cried out to the Lord in a desperate search for renewed joy.

As He showed me this terrible enemy of a once-beautiful plant, He took me back to a memory of a very unpleasant trip to a variety store as a child with my mom, and younger brother, Richard, in tow.

Not often were we able to pick a prize at the store, but on that day, our mom told us we could pick a ball.

And right there, where once there must have been hundreds of beautiful balls in that special cage, sat TWO balls — a red one and a blue one.

Before I could proclaim, “The beautiful blue ball has always been meant for me!” my brother yells, “I want the blue one!”

Then, girl drama began at its finest.

“What? NO, I WANT THE BLUE BALL! I must have that blue ball!”

If I could not have the blue ball — I didn’t want one at all.

We left the store that day. Richard with the blue ball. Me – empty handed.

Now, the truth was – if I cared to learn anything about the second choice – the red ball would have been able to do everything his blue ball did.

But the honest truth – it was just not what I wanted.

Why was God taking me back such a long time ago in my memories of a silly blue ball?

God surrounds us with the things we love. He loves us that much. He gives grace, compassion, heals both body and hearts.

For me, Steve was my beautiful and wonderful season of the beloved ‘blue ball.’

No little brother, no one could have taken what God so protected for me alone with my Steve.

This season – the here and now.

And still, there are times we hang tightly to that blue ball.

God warns: There’s an enemy on the loose!

“Through God we will do valiantly,
For it is He who shall tread down our enemies.”
Psalm 108:13 (NKJV)

Just as God had shown me the enemy of that beautiful plant, He was warning me against a great enemy in my life today.

There is no doubt that our enemy wants to confine us to the box of a much-loved season. By doing that, we become paralyzed in our grief.

The season of the ‘blue ball’ was one of the most amazing chapters of your story. You put a book marker there and revisit it again and again letting the wonderful memory of it wash over you.

But that blue ball we hang on to so tightly, it is not for this season.

There are many things we will learn as the beloved season of our ‘blue ball’ is over for now.

We will experience the kindest heart of our God. Hope of eternity will become our greatest reminder of God’s love for us.

For many of us, new relationships and new seasons of love will teach us of the blessings of what beautiful ‘red balls’ can offer.

For each one of us, we will become God’s ambassadors, the sharers of Truth as we wait for His coming again.

And with hearts that have experienced the greatest of love this side of Heaven, we will proclaim that God is so good and always faithful in every season.

Our Father God, we thank You for the lessons of our youth. May we cherish our season with the beautiful blue ball as we keep our hearts open for every new season. Amen