May 23, 2023
Dear friends,
“Someone traveling in the Dakota prairies for the first time might notice that the few trees which have been planted by human hands never stand straight but have all grown crooked. In some it is not only the trunk that has this tendency, but also the branches are also all bent so that it looks like someone’s hair has been blown over their face from back to front. If asked about this phenomenon that nature-lovers find disagreeable, the inhabitants of the area will tell you that it is because of the constant and occasionally violent winds, which come mostly from the northwest. Slowly but surely, their constant influence on the saplings causes them to deviate from a straight line of growth. Although the wind might blow from another direction from time to time, it cannot overcome the effect of the much more frequent northwest wind. That is why all the trees have grown crooked.”1
That description comes from an article written in 1910 by a Lutheran Pastor named John Schaller. He was writing about the intense impact that time has on formation.
So, how do you spend your time? Have you ever paid close attention? If you were to keep track for a week, you might be very surprised.
It’s like budgeting. The first time people set out to track their expenses, they’re often shocked to find out the proportions they’ve been spending in ways they didn’t realize.
It’s easy to cop out of spending time reading, hearing, and talking about God’s Word when you don’t really pay attention to how much time you spend on things generally. It’s easy to feel like you perpetually don’t have enough time for it.
But if you were to start to add it all up and notice how much time you spend watching TV or scrolling on your phone or listening to the news or gossiping with your friend or pursuing your favorite pastimes, you might be shocked to find out how little time you spend with God’s Word in comparison.
I like to put it this way to the kids: you get good at what you practice. Supposedly it takes 10,000 hours of practice to become an expert in something. What are you becoming expert in? Jesus puts it this way: “Where your treasure is, there your heart will be also” (Matthew 6:21). John Schaller would put it like this: the prevailing wind is what shapes the tree.
God grant you grace to hear his Word! May the prevailing wind in your life be the very breath of God, his Spirit, whom he wants to give you in abundance. Pray for his help, that you would “look carefully then how you walk, not as unwise but as wise, making the best use of the time, because the days are evil” (Eph. 5:15-16). Thank God for his gift of time. Entrust yourself to his care, and be confident that he gives more than enough time for the all things he wants you to do.
God bless and keep you,
Pr. Buchs
- Schaller, John. “The Fight for the Christian School as a Fight for the Christian Worldview” (Der Kampf um die christliche Schule als Kampf um die christliche Weltanschauung). Theologische Quartalschrift, vol. 7, 1910, pp. 204-221. Translated by Michael Holmen.
COMING EVENTS:
Christian Doctrine – Wednesday, May 24 @ 6pm
Elder’s & Council – Thursday, June 8 @ 6 & 7pm
Old Settler’s Day – Saturday, June 24