Upstairs over a vacant lot: ‘The Old Ditch Dweller’

BY PAUL CURTISS COLLINS, Guest Writer

I have a friend who wrote Christian novels until short term memory problems and the death of his wife caused him to quit being a writer. During his career, I was honored to supply ideas for two of his novels and consult on three others.

One day on his morning walk, he ventured off the pavement onto a grassy area next to a ditch. He slipped and the slide into the ditch left him looking up. From that perspective he saw his world from a different perspective. He became “The Old Ditch Dweller” and wrote a few columns based on seeing the beauty of life even when in a very unglamorous position.

Today, I’ll be your “Old Ditch Dweller.”

There is an old saying that “Any day above ground is a good day” and some folks add “But only if you’re able to sit up and take nourishment.”

(At the time of this feeble effort to put in writing a perspective on the day, in my area it is overcast and the temperature is measured in the low 70s F. It’s not a bad day unless you want bright sun and temps in the 80s.)

My thought is that every day is a gift. It is a gift whether you are 9 or 90. It is a gift whether you are wealthy, well-to-do, or just “gettin’ by.” I can’t say the same for those who aren’t making it monetarily. I’ve “been there, done that” and didn’t like it so I refused to “wear the t-shirt.” This huge bite out of the “Wisdom Appl” leads me to acknowledge three potential problem areas of life that can be overcome by being like “The Old Ditch Dweller” and looking up.

Potential problem area number one: Our body demands attention. It wants to be fed food and “watered” with any number of beverages. It requires rest. It resists exercise. It doesn’t like being ill, but does it anyway. It doesn’t like to hurt, but sometimes “hurt happens.”

Potential problem area number two: Materialism is everywhere in “our neck of the woods.” It’s increasing exponentially. The more “things” that are available for purchase, the more “things” that hit the market. Too many folks are feeding the Machine of Materialism and maxing out their credit cards (not just one card but a few to several). Yep! We want things!

Potential problem area number three: Forgetting that a person is a spirit creates an identity crisis. If you lose track of who you are, you lose your way in life. Without excellent self-identification, wrong decisions will dominate day-to-day actions. If you don’t know yourself, how can you select the right mate for life? How can you select the right house to be your forever home in the right neighborhood? The list goes on, but I need to wrap this up by moving to the next paragraph.

Your spiritual life is so vitally important that it ought to be number one on your list. The flesh should be toward the bottom. Materialism can “float around” to be useful in the development of the “Spirit Man” or “Spirit Woman.” Materialism can be the reason you have an automobile to get to the job AND THE CHURCH.

Materialism can be the reason you have communication devices useful in your search to know more about God.

Wrap-up: Education for the mind is good. Taking good care of the body is good. Material things can be tools for living in a material world. But only God can develop the part of you that was designed to live eternally. You can know God, in Christ, through The Holy Spirit (also known as The Trinity; also known as Father, Son and Holy Spirit).

Jesus said, “I am come that they (you and me) might have life and have it more abundantly.” He was serious 2000 years ago, and he is serious today.

Life can be great!