...But(t) Dust

There is a joke that circulates through the emails on a regular basis about a little girl listening to the pastor's prayer, "Oh God, remember we are but dust." (Psalm 103:14). The little girl later asks her mother, "What is butt dust?"

Oh, we laugh, but at times we feel more like butt dust than but dust. And, we are not alone in this. Remember Nathan poking his finger in David's face, "You are the man..." Butt dust! Jesus catching his disciples snoozing while he is sweating blood in prayer, "Can't you watch with me for one hour?" Butt dust! And of course there is me who regularly crosses the line into that category of humiliation.

We are forever sorting out the quirks of the English language. We limp through synonyms, jump over spelling rules and sweat over punctuation. Is it "then" or "than", "further" or "farther", "but" or "butt"? This is why we go back to the original language. And of course we know it isn't the "but" that is the issue, it's the dust. The dust refereed to here is the dust God scooped up from His freshly created world and formed into people. It is also what our bodies will return to when when die. Although we are not worldly (all the time), we are of the world and the laws of nature pull at us constantly, drawing us ever closer to the dust, physically. But (there's that word again), our spirits are ever pulled heavenward by a stronger force. The love of a Heavenly Father. So, weather...um....whether I am "but dust" or "butt dust", my Father is compassionate and His lovingkindess is from everlasting to everlasting. He knows me and my "idiot-syncrasies", and yet I am loved.

This blog entry is dedicated to my friend Jennifer who finds literary inspiration in a clogged toilet and I am encouraged!