YOGA AND THE SCRAMBLED EGGS

Not too long ago I woke up to one of those perfect mornings. You know the kind. My kids were off to school and my wife had left early to go to work. I had the peace and quiet of the house all to myself. Just me, my cat and my dog - a little Sheltie named Yoga - left alone to take in the lazy calm of the brand new day.

It almost felt like a vacation. Like freedom. It was my morning and I was going to make the most of it. I started by treating myself to a nice hot breakfast of old fashioned oatmeal with lots of brown sugar and raisins on it. I also found some Honey Baked Ham in the fridge and decided that cooking it with some scrambled eggs would make a wonderful addition to my feast. I put on a pot of French Roast coffee and actually took the time to squeeze my own fresh orange juice.

I thought that as long as I was the only one home I would take my meal in to the living room, usually a banned eating venue, sit on the comfy couch, and chow down while watching the morning TV shows. So there I was with my steaming bowl of oatmeal and my hot plate of ham and eggs - patiently waiting on the coffee table - while I settled in with the trusty channel changer, ready to experience nothing but leisurely bliss.

Just as I am about to take my first bite, the telephone rings. I sighed and got up to answer it - leaving my meal behind. It was my wife on the phone. It seems that she had forgotten something and wanted me to bring it in to her at work. "No problem," I said, "I'll have it there in about an hour."

I hadn't even been on the phone for one minute - but when I came back to the couch and coffee table I was flabbergasted by what I saw. My steaming hot, mouth-watering plate of ham and eggs - was entirely gone. Well, my plate was still there but the delicious smelling ham and eggs were no where in sight. All that was left was their lingering aroma.

I looked down at my Dog - Yoga - who was licking his chops and seemed to be smiling an irritatingly satisfied-looking smile. Yup, you guessed it. He had devoured the entire plate of ham and eggs in less than one minute. I looked at him and yelled - “YOGA!!! Bad Dog!” He hung his head and cowered over to the other side of the room.

The temptation had just been too great for him I guess. The sight and smell of those eggs and that ham in such close proximity to him must have been overwhelming. Pretty soon he walked over to me, cautiously wagging his tail with a "golly shucks" look on his face. His little puppy dog eyes staring up at me begging for forgiveness. "Can we still be friends?” He seamed to be saying. I reached down and petted him and said "it’s OK boy." He happily wagged his tail and then laid down next to my feet by the couch.

About ten minutes later he "threw up" all over the living room carpet.

THE GOOD NEWS

Isn't that the way it goes sometimes in our lives. We are tempted by something that really seems appealing to us and even though we know it is bad or wrong we do it anyway. It's pull on us can be excruciatingly strong. If we’re honest with ourselves we will find that yes, sometimes we do, indeed, "cave in" to our unhealthy desires. Inevitably, or so it would seem, we make ourselves miserable. Just like Yoga did after eating a plate full of food that was much too rich for him.

The good news for us is that just like I forgave my dog Yoga, God, too, forgives us when we make mistakes.

Unlike the my dog story, however, God gives us a “tool” with which to overcome temptation. That “tool” is His strength.

My dad used to tell me “Son, it’s just a matter of willpower. If you try hard enough you can do anything.”

In my adult life I have come to learn that while willpower is, indeed, important and quite useful there are some cases, some occasions, where mere human willpower is not enough. Sometimes there are things that will tempt us beyond our strength and beyond our human will power.

If only my dog Yoga could talk. Maybe he would have called on me when the temptation became overwhelming. If he had called me I would have immediately come over to the coffee table and taken the ham and eggs out of his sight or I would have simply pulled him away and held him so that he couldn't eat them. I would have overcome for him what he was unable to overcome alone.

And so it is when we call on our Father in heaven. We can call on God for help. We can talk to God when we feel week. He will help us. He will be our strength to resist when we have no will-power left. God always hears us and He is always there to help - we just need to ask Him to come into our life, to come into our moments, to come into our difficult circumstances.

Believing in Him, we just need to ask. He has and He will overcome for us and in us what we cannot overcome ourselves.

THOUGHT

What temptation in your life is God calling upon you to turn over to Him today?

1 Corinthians 10:13

“Every test that you have experienced is the kind that normally comes to people. But God keeps His promise, and He will not allow you to be tested beyond your power to remain firm; at the time you are put to the test, He will give you the strength to endure it, and so provide you with a way out.”

Matthew 11:28-30

“Come to me, all of you who are tired from carrying heavy loads, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke and put it on you, and learn from me, because I am gentle and humble in spirit; and you will find rest. For the yoke I will give you is easy, and the load I will put on you is light.”