Harmony
Harmony is so important. There are so many things in life that just don’t work well without harmony. Marriages break up because there is not harmony. Parents and children go decades without even seeing or talking to each other because there is no harmony. And this doesn’t just apply to human relationships. This also applies to mechanical things as well. If all the parts in our car are not running in harmony we end up in the repair shop.
Paper
Running the digital at a print shop I use a lot of paper. The thing that I have realized about paper is that it also has to work in harmony. Let me explain. There are so many different types of paper. Paper comes with different types of texture, weight, and coating not to mention different sizes as well.
One of the hardest papers to run is a paper that is not in harmony. A paper that I consider not in harmony is when one side of the paper is different than the other. One side has a smooth shiny coating, which is actually call coated. And the other side is uncoated and it looks dull and much easier to write on. Because it is different on both sides they work against each other and cause the paper to have more of a tendency to curl.
As this paper is used for what it is intended for, its differences become a problem. Whether you are using a color press or a digital machine this paper has a hard time passing through “life”. Because of the curl it does not have harmony, therefore, it causes the paper to jam in the machines. The machines are meant for paper that works in harmony and stays flat.
As I was experiencing this the other day it made me think of us. We are really not a whole lot different. We need to live our lives in harmony with something or things do not go well. Whether it is living in harmony with our husband/wife, our children, our friends, or even our boss. Things can get really rough if we cannot learn these skills.
Christians
Then it made me think a little deeper. What about a Christian? Is there a difference in our lives if we live in harmony with Christ? Are there two sides to us? Do we live one way at home and another way at church or work? If we are living in harmony both sides of our lives should be the same. We should be working in harmony otherwise a “curl” gets started and we cannot run smoothly through life.
I want to think of my life as paper. When we give our lives to Christ we marry Him, we become one with Him. What we give up is our “uncoated” life to become “coated” with Him. And as long as we are “coated” with Him our lives flow in harmony. Any time we try live our lives our own way without cooperating with Him our lives will “jam” every time just like the paper would jam. When our lives our twisted with sin “jams” are in inevitable. When we don’t trust God in His ways and try to go our own way there is never harmony. I want to stay “coated”.
Dear Father,
I want to be in tune with You. I do not want anything to come between You and I but I want to be “coated” with You so that my life will move with precision and purpose. My goal is to always trust You so fully that even through the fiery trials, we, together, can flow through unscathed. Thank You for always being there for me and for Your patience and for leading me gently on.
In Jesus Name,
Amen
Allow God full control of every area of your life today. It brings harmony into the life, which makes life so much better.
Love you all.
How has God blessed you, as you have trusted Him through difficulties? I would love to hear your story.