Additives

Petroleum Scholar Zhang went to work hammering out his PhD dissertation. Its premise centered on the task of increasing smoother, more efficient liquid flow through the interior chambers of miles and miles of pipeline.

Tackling bothersome culprits that stifle free flow of a thing seems generally worthwhile. Like reducing buildup of sludge along the interior surface of oil pipes.

Hinderances – Blockages – Sludge. Such terms don’t call to mind the most endearing images. As my plumber-dad’s gofer long ago, I was sometimes assigned the task of guiding a long flat metal ‘snake’ into and along the Log Cabin Restaurant’s stopped-up waste line. It was there I began coming to terms with two things:

#1 Sludgy, stinky blockages in any form are not my cup of tea

#2 A professional future following the career path of my father’s own carried slim likelihood of getting realized.

But, stewarding a vessel’s inner workings well – whether cardio arteries or water pumps or fuel lines – calls for wise and careful attention. The more so when the well-being of a person’s heart and soul is the aim.

A main element in oil pipeline care involves additives. I am told that feeding the just-right blend of purifying elements into a line, can serve as a remarkable game-changer. This action results in the free, unimpeded movement of a product that may afterward propel numberless ‘people-ferrying birds’ across the friendly skies.

So what additives might be called for in your soul and mine? What Spirit-fueled practices does God prescribe in the very middle of our daily routines of eating and sleeping and working and playing and resting? What can we do to keep the pipes open, our minds and hearts purer – freer – Better?

The eternal creator (our cosmic Chemist if you will) sets before us, for the mere receiving, one of his own tested-and-proven additives. This ‘additive’ cuts through the choking fog of a toxic world and its many contaminants swirling about us. It is at various times labeled, the Bible – the Word – the Sacred Scripture. Wonderfully supplied among its holy elements are  ingredients to ensure a new kind of life – a good and pure and honorable life – well lived.

I have stored up your word in my heart, that I might not sin against you*

©2023 Jerry Lout                                                                                             *Psalm 119:11

 

 

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