Guard Your Heart


 

One of the first things I saw on my morning walk was this orange traffic cone planted squarely in my path. It was a random sight; there was no pothole, no construction, no danger. Just a single traffic cone standing watch, perhaps warning of something unseen that lies ahead on the horizon.
It brought to mind the sound of my momma’s voice as she warned me of so many things as I grew up. She warned me of many dangers I could not see. She put up a few traffic cones in my life. Out of her religious practices, she warned me of the dangers of drinking and dancing. Yes, dancing. She warned of the dangers of being in places I had no business being. She warned of how hard it was to rebuild a good reputation once it was lost. She warned of the importance of loving and respecting all people while choosing your trusted friends carefully. She warned of how choices I made when young could affect the rest of my life.
Like this traffic cone on the sidewalk, at the time I could not see the danger. Those words seemed random and out of place. Those words seemed unnecessary. But, strangely enough, the farther I walked in life the less random some of her words of warning became. With the passing years I avoided a few problems because of warnings given long before I could see any danger. And I am grateful.
The book of Proverbs warns us to , “Above all else, guard your heart, for everything you do flows from it. Keep your mouth free of perversity; keep corrupt talk far from your lips. Let your eyes look straight ahead; fix your gaze directly before you. Give careful thought to the paths for your feet and be steadfast in all your ways. Do not turn to the right or the left; keep your foot from evil.”
Peace.

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