Two are Better than One

It was a tough choice for me yesterday, head to ATL and potential snow/ice or stay in sunny Daphne to head for Orlando Monday. Plus the fatigue was a factor, and ATB was well represented in service today so I opted to stay and get a day of refreshing.

In so doing I went for an early morning walk near the lake that surrounds this area and saw two Egrets sitting side by side on a log in the water. I thought what a pleasant sight to just watch them seem to be content in the company of each other. Then the first Egret took off, closely followed by the second, and I thought again what a joy to see two acting as one.

It's safe to say that if that second Egret in our life is God, we need to make him the one that flies off first and we follow closely behind. We know for sure that the direction he goes in can only lead us on the best path our lives could take. However, we often follow someone or something else that has the wrong flight plan. It would have been better to just sit on that log ourselves than to take off after them.

Two can always be better than one if that other one has a positive influence on us, but one can sometimes be better if we find ourselves out in the middle of lake of confusion with no apparent way to get off the log. I say that to match this great saying I saw this week posted on Facebook: "Sometimes you find yourself in the middle of nowhere, but sometimes in the middle of nowhere is where you find yourself".

Many folks I know have found themselves and their God in the middle of nowhere,  but yet some continue to chase after that elusive Egret who has no direction except immediate satisfaction. There seems to be no hope to find truth only emulation of the Israelites wandering around in the desert lost because they could not see clearly how to fly. So too, the constant relapsers and those of us who struggle to avoid past behaviors, must decide who sits on that log with us, and what is the cost of who we follow.

May I suggest that two are better than one only when that other one is full of wisdom, encouragement, love, grace and honesty, among many great qualities. On the other hand, the one who is us must possess the same or be seeking to be the same, or we will just be taking a brief flight.

And on that brief flight, we may find ourselves, once again, in the middle of nowhere!