Allergies and Spirit
In the ongoing war of things unseen, allergens are particular demons, preferring nasal passages and tear ducts to more subtle temptations of mind. There is something about the constant tickle, the swollen eyes, the gargantuan sneezes, and the sniffing (that drives my wife crazy) that has the capability of driving me right to the edges of sanity. If I were towering over the Evil One in victory having just completed a 400 day fast during which I had shared the gospel with 100 people a day, he would no doubt hammer me with the simplicity of a week's worth of allergies at which point I would keel over in shame, cursing all the pollen that ever was, and worse.
To be fair, I've had several good seasons in recent years, bringing an irrational hope that I'd outgrown it all. Nasonex plus air filters plus decent weather seemed to add up to hope, but it was not to be.
All of which is to say that no matter how you batten down your spiritual hatches, there will be leaks coming from unknown sources. Temptation is, I suppose, like the weather (though I'm comparing lots of things to the weather these days) in that it's always there, pervasive, changing its temperature and its particular gnarliness, but beat one bit of evil and here comes another.
Paul says pray constantly. Probably a good idea...
...depending on what you think prayer is.
7:44:51 AM
