Salt Life

If you don’t live near the ocean or the Gulf of Mexico you might not have seen the bumper stickers that say simply “Salt Life”.  Not being up on all the current lingo I decided to look up what that means because just about every car I see has that sticker on it.  It is an actual brand that was formed by 4 “watermen”.  They are “extreme surfers, free divers, spear fishermen, and blue water fishing experts.”  This is their web site if you want to take a look.  So, what the sticker “Salt Life” means is to enjoy being on or in the oceans, and doing any activity that revolves around them.  It also makes me think of Jimmy Buffett and Margaritaville.  With summer right around the corner it hard not imagine sitting on the beach with a “frozen concoction” in your hand. :)  Besides all that it also got me thinking about what Jesus says Christians should be.  Matthew 5:13 says “You are the salt of the earth…”  So we are supposed to be the “Salt of the earth.”  Salt has many uses for many things.  This web site has suggestions on how you can use salt in your everyday life, other than just putting it on your food.  You can use it to clean your house, give yourself a facial, or to keep weeds from popping up on your patio.  WOW!  I knew I liked salt for a reason, lol.  The latter use really got my attention.

 

“Keeping patios weed-free - If weeds or unwanted grass come up between patio bricks or blocks, carefully spread salt between the bricks and blocks, then sprinkle with water or wait for rain to wet it down.”

 

Weeds…who likes weeds?  I surely don’t, and neither does my homeowners association.  Our handbook actually gives a measurement of how high the weeds in our yard/flower beds can be.  That might be a little much, but in any case you get the idea.  Have you ever noticed that weeds will show up overnight and look like they’ve been there for days?  How do they grow that fast?  It amazes me.  Some weeds make us sneeze or cough.  Some make our skin break out.  Some are just annoying, and others have beautiful flowers on them.  Those weeds are hard to get rid of sometimes because they are so pretty.  What about weeds in our lives?  Ugly weeds that no one sees, pretty weeds that we don’t mind people seeing.  Ones that we pull and don’t go down to the root and soon they are back.  If not tended weeds can even kill other plants by taking all the nourishment from them.  The latter of Matthew 5:13 says “But if the salt loses its saltiness, how can it be made salty again? It is no longer good for anything, except to be thrown out and trampled underfoot.”  It’s hard to image salt losing its saltiness since that’s all it is, is Salt.  How does salt lose its saltiness?  Well…I know it can dissolve.  You may still have a bit of salt after taste but once you take a drink or another bite of food it’s gone. So, how do we salt our lives?  How do we keep from dissolving the salt we have?  Well, the obvious answer is to be in God’s word.  Another is to be involved in our local churches, and to surround ourselves with people who believe what we do and live out that “Salt Life.”  I have come to realize that the closer I am to the Lord, the more I read His word, the more I pray, the more I think on the things he wants me to, the easier it is for me to  see the weeds in my life and to get rid of them.  But the day or 2 that I don’t do the above, those weeds pop up and it’s like they’ve been there for a long time.  They start to annoy me, they make me sneeze, cough, break out.  They will produce flowers that seem to be good, but eventually they start to choke me and take my nourishment.  They take my energy I had for the Lord, my husband, my Gem, my family, and my friends. 

 

Lord,  Thank you for your word.  Help me to be steadfast in your word and in serving you.  Please give me the wisdom to see beyond the beautiful flowers.  Help me keep salting my life so that I can keep the weeds away from me that take my energy away from you and my priorities.    In Jesus name, Amen.

 

Peace, Love, and God Bless.