A Firm Grip

So, just to be clear we do get snow here in this desert oasis area of the state of Washington.  It does not get very cold, it does not last long, and it does not get plowed.  So when it does arrive it results in late starts, multiple accidents, etc.  And what I have learned is this - watch where you have to stop so you can get started again.  Here's the explanation:  This is a very hilly area and if you have a normal car like mine and you stop at a traffic light or stop sign, don't be heading up hill.  You probably won't make it.  :)  My car did not have a firm grip of the snowy road.  

But here a few examples of someone having a firm grip.  Children usually do this to items in their possession.  When my nephew was some where around 2 years old, he could linger at the dinner table, be put down for a nap and get up a few hours later with a piece of meat in his mouth.  He had a firm grip of it between his cheek and gum.

When a daughter of ours was very young we could be shopping in a store and she would see a piece of string, a tag, a metal clip from a hanger, etc. on the floor.  She would pick it up with out me even realizing it.  We would finish our errands, I would lay her down for a nap and she would get up a few hours later with a firm grip of her treasures still in her hand.

One day this week as I was getting our grandson down for his nap, I laid down next to him to get him settled.  As I was lying there I watched him with 3 bean bags that he had taken to bed with him.  He had only two hands.  So he took one and tucked it into his arm pit and then he could hold one in each of his hands with a firm grip.  Now that's problem solving.

And one more - a few times when Abby and I have been walking she wants to go off the path due to curiosity.  But several times God has warned us about straying from our "path". ;)  Well, when she has done this she tends then to be limping.  So we stop, I lift up the affected leg and see that a "prickly" thing has a firm grip on the pad of her foot.  (I know - you think she would learn to stay on the path, but I'm sure God has thought that with us as humans as well.)

What have you found yourself with a firm grip on?  Is it something you need to let go of?  Does it have eternal value?  I'm not saying a person can't have things, but be careful what priority they have in your life.  Would you be willing to let go?  

Just remember to have a firm grip on the hope we have in our Savior Jesus Christ.  For that is where we need to have a firm grip.

So let’s do it—full of belief, confident that we’re presentable inside and out. Let’s keep a firm grip on the promises that keep us going. He always keeps his word. 

Hebrews 10:23 The Message