Where has the time gone? Summer, according to many people, is the slow time for churches. But living in Bayfield, as many churches mourn the fact that their people are traveling, we celebrate that they are in our church. Not only that, with much of the work in the area being service-oriented, our own people travel less during the summer than during the other 3 seasons!
The busyness of gardening (read weeding), mowing, and having the same work load at church has somehow taken my mind off this blog. My desire to write more often and more consistently has again blown away in the breeze.
Speaking of breezes, yesterday it was 90 degrees and our electricity was out for 14 hours. Two weeks ago, of course, another major storm came through with up to 10 inches of rain, washing out bridges on major highways. Getting anywhere was a real challenge for a while, and much is still not passable.
Sometimes life is like that. You are travelling along fairly comfortably, secure in your job, your home life and your church. Then suddenly, without warning, a storm comes up. Trees are blown down, bridges are washed out, and you ask, "Why? Why, God, would you allow that to happen just as things were going well?"
In my experience, it is just when I am most comfortable that the bridge washes out and the tree falls across the driveway. There are time when God has had to shake up my life so I turn and walk more closely with Him.
The pleasant times are great. I want to stay there all the time. But it is when I really have to rely on God, and to ask Him what He is doing, that I discover what He wants me to do, and how much He really loves me.
When we go through those tough times, we don't see what God is doing. But later, maybe many years later, we can look back and say, "If that hadn't happened, or would have happened differently, I would have missed out on all that He had for me.
As a matter of fact, that is why I am in Bayfield. God took me through some hard stuff that I didn't want to go through, and then moved me to another difficult situation close by, so that when He wanted me here, I was available and listening.
The good news is that He will do the same for you. Whatever you are facing today, know that God is only giving you what is best for you. It may not feel like it, but it is true.
Trust Him. He loves you and has a wonderful plan for your life.
The busyness of gardening (read weeding), mowing, and having the same work load at church has somehow taken my mind off this blog. My desire to write more often and more consistently has again blown away in the breeze.
Speaking of breezes, yesterday it was 90 degrees and our electricity was out for 14 hours. Two weeks ago, of course, another major storm came through with up to 10 inches of rain, washing out bridges on major highways. Getting anywhere was a real challenge for a while, and much is still not passable.
Sometimes life is like that. You are travelling along fairly comfortably, secure in your job, your home life and your church. Then suddenly, without warning, a storm comes up. Trees are blown down, bridges are washed out, and you ask, "Why? Why, God, would you allow that to happen just as things were going well?"
In my experience, it is just when I am most comfortable that the bridge washes out and the tree falls across the driveway. There are time when God has had to shake up my life so I turn and walk more closely with Him.
The pleasant times are great. I want to stay there all the time. But it is when I really have to rely on God, and to ask Him what He is doing, that I discover what He wants me to do, and how much He really loves me.
When we go through those tough times, we don't see what God is doing. But later, maybe many years later, we can look back and say, "If that hadn't happened, or would have happened differently, I would have missed out on all that He had for me.
As a matter of fact, that is why I am in Bayfield. God took me through some hard stuff that I didn't want to go through, and then moved me to another difficult situation close by, so that when He wanted me here, I was available and listening.
The good news is that He will do the same for you. Whatever you are facing today, know that God is only giving you what is best for you. It may not feel like it, but it is true.
Trust Him. He loves you and has a wonderful plan for your life.
