A Steady Walk

I took a walk, and I don’t know what possessed me to stop at a certain moment, but I did and was instantly drawn to a single strand of Broomsedge grass. The words filled my head, a life of austerity and softness . In fact, I wasn’t sure the words weren’t audible. In my first reaction, I thought, Lord, are you speaking to me right now? My second reaction was how strange it was for these two words to be brought together, because they’re descriptive antonyms. They have opposite meanings. Austere refers to a lack of warmth, color, or empathy, while softness conveys comfort, richness, and compassion. And then, why am I looking at this stalk of Broomsedge? Why did I climb over a high-banked ditch to get to it? There must be a message here. I studied the stalk. Then I heard the words I knew were from a certain verse in the Bible. Fortunately, I had my phone with me, so I looked them up.   ~James 1:2-3: “Consider it pure joy, my brothers and sisters, whenever you face trials of many ...