For the last two weeks I have been in some pretty significant pain in my shoulder, neck and left arm.  I took enough tylenol and Aleve to destroy three livers and the pain didn’t go away and so I took the advice of several people and went to see a chiropractor.  After about a dozen X-rays, Dr. Youngblood showed me why I was having so much trouble.  The top of my neck was jacked up pretty bad and the base of my neck was compressed and the top of my spine was crooked in the wrong direction.  In Chiro terms I was “out of alignment”.  For the last week I have gone almost everyday to have him crack my back working it back into place.  It is fascinating really and not unlike our lives.

Too many times we let our lives get compressed, out of whack and basically out of alignment.  We put too much business in our lives.  We place too much burden on our selves to achieve.  We concentrate on pleasing the wrong people in our lives.  Dr. Youngblood told me that once the spine is corrected, all of the nerves will operate as they should.  In other words straighten yourself out and things work out.

It reminds me of a verse in scripture.  Proverbs 3:5-6 says 5Trust in the LORD with all your heart And do not lean on your own understanding. 6In all your ways acknowledge Him, And He will make your paths straight.

Our lives get crooked when we trust in the wrong things like work, peoples opinions, wealth.  We get out of alignment when we treat the LORD lightly.  The verse says trust him with ALL of our heart.

We also get out of line when WE try to do it all ALONE.  The creator of the universe has offered you a hand.  Let him help.  Allow God to make your paths straight.  Don’t wait for the pain to come.  Come to Jesus now.  Seek him today and get aligned.

There has been a lot of discussion about the Beach Gator. A 10 footer that found his way onto Folly Beach. It even made the local news in my hometown in Columbus Ga. There is a lot you can learn from that gator.

1) The FB gator like many people took a wrong turn and ended up where they didn’t belong. In life you usually have a good plan but end up shifting here or shifting there and before long you are nowhere near where you wanted to be.
2) Sometimes you just don’t have the strength to get out of the mess you are in. I heard a lot of “experts” say that it is common for fresh water gators to swim through brackish waters but sometimes if they are weak or the current is strong they get carried away. Well this is a 10 foot gator so he must have been weak to get carried away. In life we find ourselves taking shortcuts and are not strong enough to get out of the mess we are in. Enter the importance of Connection Groups. One person may be weak but together we are strong.
3) Lastly, sometimes when you end up where you don’t belong you get shot. Now, I don’t mean this literally (although I could). Sometimes simply being in the wrong place can ruin your reputation, your career, your relationships. Be careful.

1 Peter 5:8-9

8Be alert and of sober mind. Your enemy the devil prowls around like a roaring lion looking for someone to devour. 9Resist him, standing firm in the faith, because you know that the family of believers throughout the world is undergoing the same kind of sufferings.

A lot to be learned from the infamous Folly Beach gator…what do you think?