Uninvited

-
This picture of our son walking right into the middle of our little photoshoot pretty much represents the way 2020 has gone for many of us. We all had such high hopes for this year, didn’t we? Then, uninvited, came the virus, killings, death, strife, divorce, loss of every kind… They were not expected, and certainly not welcome. They walked right into the perfect picture of a year we had planned. It made us mad. It made us sad. It made us question who was really in control.

Though not much has gone as planned, I believe we could all find blessings in each day. The sun still rose and set. There were weddings, there were births. Our Creator remains on His throne. This year has been the perfect opportunity to teach our children, and even learn ourselves, that things don’t always go as we hope, so we have to adjust. There’s no point in focusing on what went wrong. Let’s seek what went right, and work to make things even better. Let’s smile more, love harder, and make the best out of what we are handed.

I hope everyone found something to be thankful for yesterday, and I pray you continue to do so throughout the year, no matter what it may bring.

“On a good day, enjoy yourself; On a bad day, examine your conscience. God arranges for both kinds of days So that we won’t take anything for granted.” ‭‭Ecclesiastes‬ ‭7:14‬ ‭MSG‬‬

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Should Someone Call an Exorcist?

-
Image
Last Friday I went bowling with some of my family. I am aware of my low skill level, so I remained humble throughout the first game, and surprisingly finished in 1st place!  The second game began and I just knew I would dominate even more. I may not have been quite as humble. I was last on the list to go. I stood up and approached my ball with confidence. I picked it up, set my eye on the center arrow painted on the lane, then took a few quick steps forward just as I had before.  As I took my last step, I swung my arm backward, then forward, and fell flat on my face. Actually, flat is not entirely accurate. I’m pretty sure every one of my limbs flew in a different direction, and the position of my head may have had folks wondering if they should call an exorcist. I also seemed to be temporarily blinded from the fall but could hear my ball bouncing its way down the lane. Let’s pause for a moment of prayer. The problem was that I had stepped over the foul line into the lane— 1. Not reali
Read more

The Complexity of Prayer

-
Image
Have you ever considered the complexity of prayer? Have you ever had something you needed to pray about, but you just couldn’t bring yourself to talk to God about whatever the issue was? I have experienced that many times. I will call it “Prayer paralysis.” Prayer paralysis happens when you are afraid of any answer God might give you. If He says no, then you might feel bad, or sad, or even angry. If He says yes, then your fear factor increases because you just don’t think you can handle what a “Yes” entails (which essentially means that you don’t trust Him). So instead of revealing your lack of trust (Like seriously, you don’t think He knows? ), you just don’t pray. It’s kind of like when you were a little kid, and you would sit still and close your eyes, thinking that it would make you invisible. God already knows our fears of failure, self-pride, and even our trust issues, so we might as well just go ahead and lay it all at His feet. There’s another kind of prayer paralysis that I ha
Read more

Go Deeper

-
Image
  Anyone struggling with anxiety? I have struggled with it quite a bit. Then, I realize that forgetting to bring all of my anxiety-inducing problems to God, is a big part of the problem. Yesterday I talked about living in endurance mode. Part of that is taking all of the difficult things, and trying to wait them out.  If I really think about it, I may have subconsciously believed that struggling is just part of the journey and that I need to suck it up, because Jesus went through way more than I ever will.    But, “ Jesus said, “Come to me, all of you who are weary and carry heavy burdens, and I will give you rest.” (Matt. 11:28)  He never intended for us to hold onto them. Sometimes we don’t bother saying anything to God because, well, He knows what’s happening. He can change it if He wants to. So we sit paralyzed—enduring! Is that familiar to anyone? Though He could whisk our struggles away at any time, part of the journey, part of our relationship with the Creator is rooted in commu
Read more