Carl has been having issues with his coat lately. A couple of months ago, bumps began to appear all over his body which the vet couldn’t explain. If I picked at the bump, I would usually be able to pull off a hard black thorn. Not having a clue what was causing it, we decided to change his food and use a special type of shampoo.
Both Bee and Carl’s coats have improved in appearance. Carl still has the bumps but they don’t seem to bother him. He never scratches or licks them so I should be content to just leave them alone. I hate to mention this but I am a picker. I love to put my finger down on his skin, swirl it around until I find the black thorn and pull.
Well you can imagine that Carl isn’t as happy to see me coming towards him as he used to be. And if I pick too long, he starts to whisper a growl that warns me to back off. And I will. For a while. But if Carl happens to get in my lap and I spot a bump, my impulse is to start picking.
What kind of bumps do you pick at? They can come in all shapes and sizes. It could be a topic that you keep raising with your spouse. Or it could be a relationship that just isn’t healthy for you to pursue but you just keep picking.
The Israelites were pickers. After God had parted the Red Sea and were finally free, they started picking. First it was the fact that they didn’t have any food. So God created manna to come down from the sky to feed them. But that wasn’t enough so they asked for meat. After God gave them plenty of quail to eat, they were still not satisfied.
Moses’ siblings picked on him because of the woman he married. Then when Moses had gone up the mountain to speak to God, they created a gold idol to worship. All because of the desire to pick.
When do we ever learn that we need to be content with what we have and stop picking? 1 Timothy 6:9-10 warns, “Those who desire to be rich fall into temptation, into a snare, into many senseless and harmful desires that plunge people into ruin and destruction. For the love of money is a root of all kinds of evils.”
I have been trying to be better and leave Carl alone. On the other hand, I know that there are other areas of my life that I need to stop myself from picking. Hopefully, I will realize that if I can stop picking the bumps of life and focus on what God wants for me, everyone will be better off. Particularly Carl.
