Marv steps on the nail....

"Home Alone", a classic movie in my opinion. I hope you can remember  the wonderful scream Marv lets out when when he is walking up the tar-covered stairs and steps on the strategically placed nail!! That scene played out in my mind this week after doing some disaster relief here in Birmingham. On saturday we were assigned to pick up rubble in a neighborhood that was destroyed by the tornado a few weeks ago. "GREAT" I thought, I get to do my part and help out! And I did, I had a great time serving and being obedient to what God has called me to do. However when we left, I took some rubble with me. Not know this right away, I had stepped on a nail that went through my shoe and decided to just chill in the sole. I couldn't feel it so i didn't realize it was there....until yesterday when i decided to go for a walk with Ashley. About 15 minutes in our walk i felt this sharp pain in my heel. I just thought it was a small rock that got stuck in my shoe, so i gave a little shake and moved on. A few seconds later I felt it again and wanted to see what was going on. Needless to say I found that nail which made its way through the sole of my shoe and was pricking my heel. Ashley freaked out and said you need to get a tetanus shot ASAP.  Being married for almost I year, I've realized she is usually right about this stuff. So she calls the doc and they tell me i need to come in THAT DAY. Okay, I don't think its that urgent....but I say okay and drive over to a local Urgent Care to get a tetanus shot. I arrive and tell the doc I just need a tetanus shot. A few moments later I'm called back to one of the rooms with a nurse saying, "okay you're here for a TB shot" as she is getting the needle ready I'm frantically thinking, "TB, TB....isn't that tuberculosis?" I decided to say to the nurse, "Isn't TB, tuberculosis? I need a tetanus shot, not a TB shot." She looks at me very flustered and begins this rant: "they told me TB, so I put you in the computer to get a TB shot, now i have to change the computer and get a new dose and needle." As she went and got a new dose i sat there thinking, If i wouldn't have said anything she wouldn't have given me a TB shot!!! I realized an important lesson. As a christian I have a choice,  I don't have to let death infiltrate my body due to my surroundings of a fallen world. . As a christian I have a choice. Because of the Holy Spirit  I won't face any temptation that I can't handle. But then i thought of the people that don't have that power on their side. Those that don't have the power of the Holy spirit have no choice but to get the wrong shot. They don't have the voice to say, "I don't need a TB shot!!!"
Without the Holy Spirt to enable and empower us, we have no voice against sin. As a christian I pray for the power of the Holy Spirit to act on my behalf each day to be the voice that allows me to choose life not death.