"The Hard Way"

The funniest thing happened last weekend. My 3 1/2-yr-old nephew, Collin, had come to stay with us on Friday, while his mom, my sweet sis-in-law Courtney, had jury duty. The kids played hard all day long and had such a great time. In the evening, after we ate dinner, the two boys went right back to playing. At one point, they came out of the bedroom dressed-up head to toe...Bailey was Darth Vader, Collin was the red Power Ranger...both wielding light sabres. It was hilarious to watch them go at each other while trying not to run into furniture, knock things over, hit the walls or hurt each other. And amusingly they did this while my oblivious husband sat on the couch reading the latest copy of his favorite Mopar magazine. Kids are better than TV! A short while into it they both stopped to take a breath and plan their next move. Bailey looked at Collin and in a very serious tone said, "Okay, we can do this the easy way or the hard way!" There was a momentary pause, then Collin very matter-of-factly replied, "THE HARD WAY," and gave Bailey's light sabre a good whack. Courtney and I looked at each other and started cracking up laughing. What made it even more amusing was that Bailey stands a good head-and-shoulders over Collin, but Collin was fearless in his challenge. The whole thing made me think. Isn't that how we are sometimes as adults. God says, "Okay. we can do this the easy way or the hard way." We barely pause to think about it and CHOOSE the hard way in our inexperience or arrogance. Sometimes it's just our thirst for excitement that drives us into challenges we might be better off avoiding. And often we do this with no fear of what might happen if life gets a little out of control. As I've gotten older, I realize that the hard way does not come without it's repercussions and consequences. Jesus said, "Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you and learn from me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For my yoke is easy and my burden is light." He offers us the easy way. We should all learn more quickly to take hold of it.