Cocklebur

"...it is hard for thee to kick against the pricks."
Acts 9:5b

This morning something kept sticking my right ankle.  I couldn't figure it out for a while.  I finally sat down and examined my sock, and there was a cocklebur embedded in it.  Every step I took, it reached out and stuck in my ankle.  I hadn't seen a cocklebur (or grass burr) in years.  Habits can be like burrs.  They can become so embedded in our lives that we are constantly affected by their pricks.  That's all right if they are good habits.  For instance, if I miss my bible reading each morning, my day just doesn't go right.  But habits are most often bad... we can't give up an addiction or we can't quit gossiping or something along those lines.  That is when our conscience becomes a "burr" to prick our heart and cause us to want to get things straightened out.  I'm grateful for those "pricks".

My prayer for today:  Thank You, Father, for a sensitive conscience that reminds me when I need to change direction in some area of my life.