The Post kids have been asking to sleep outside.  We don’t really have any camping gear, so we set up a canopy on the porch and put sheets all around the sides.  Then we pulled some mattresses onto the porch and all piled in.  I slept fairly well during the night but then I heard this strange noise that woke me up.  Rain.

I was underneath the middle of the canopy and was perfectly dry although the sound was loud and it was cold outside the canopy.  I looked over at my 2 youngest girls.  One was on each side of the canopy, out on the fringe with just the sheets to protect them.  They were getting wet.  So I grabbed them and pulled them into the center of the canopy.

It brought to my mind the scripture that describes how God gathers us in under the shelter of his wings.  Being in the shelter is comforting and brings security.  But out on the fringe, that’s where things can get really uncomfortable and messy.  I’ve been on the fringe before…not completely committed.  More focused on me than focused on God or others.

When it comes to doing what God asks of you, obedience, focusing on His plans instead of your own, are you in the middle of the shelter or out on the fringe?  Come into the center.