Pack Your Baggage, Honey, We're Moving to Paris!
Happy Tuesday!!
Years ago, we lived in a house with a wonderfully large basement. Our kids loved to ride bikes and rollerblading around the amazing space. It was a mother’s “dream basement”- space and lots of it for play. The kids and their friends spent hours upon hours down there! But there was one concern I had, over the years one wall of the foundation seemed to be a bit iffy.
No matter who you are or where you live, you too are affected by the thundering noise of the abnormally noisy and harsh world. It is way too, LOUD!
But there is hope.
Perhaps, if you are like me, you have had some “jobs” that have felt so interesting you loved them and others you wondered if you would survive the monotony of them. Sometimes we find ourselves just plodding along doing the same tasks over and over, forgetting the eternal significance of our lives, but God’s Word reminds us that no matter our work, we can do the smallest task for Him.
Perseverance seems to come naturally to some. My young grandson, Jack, is an example of someone who has a natural bent towards persevering. Jack turned six this past week and was excited to get his very own brand-new two-wheeler. He jumped onto that bike and rode without any hesitation (or training wheels.) Whether learning to read or mastering rollerblades, Jack has an “I can do it” kind of mindset, and it has served him well in life so far. His perspective is one of enduring no matter how difficult the task.
During our most recent visit, I experienced a new treat, yeasted pancakes- oh my! It may be that the pancakes tasted so good since it had been a year or more since I had tasted syrup, or it may have been the way the generously sized pancakes were prepared in a little bit of oil, which made their outer layer a bit crispy. But whatever it was, they were delightful, and the mere thought of them as I write is calling me to return to the little café for another stack.
Years ago, while in high school, our pastor came to our youth group to give a talk. Although I would like to say I remember much of what he said, I do not. He said one thing that stuck with me, and here many years later, I remember it well. Pastor Mike said that although we think this world is our reality, it is not. This world is temporal, and soon we will be in our forever home- with Jesus experiencing actual reality.
If we were to take a poll of how difficult this year has been, almost all would say this year takes the cake. Most of us have never seen anything like it. The good news is we are almost to the end. I have to say that this year has been a doozy for my family; I’ll tell you more about that in another blog post. But needless to say, the best way I can imagine seeing 2020 is in the rearview mirror. Good riddance 2020!
Do you want to supersize that? I imagine, if you are like most of us in America, McDonald’s supersize fries, and an extra-large drink pops into your head. McDonald’s came out with this supersize ad campaign in April of 1992. But by 2004, they were phasing out this option as they decided to simplify their menu and offer some healthier choices.
We live out on some land and so at night it gets to be what we call “country dark”- no street lights, no significant light coming from the closest neighbors- just complete darkness. The only nights we have good light are those of a full or harvest moon. And because it’s so dark, if you have to venture outside to close up the chicken coop or really for any other reason, any bit of light is a profound blessing.
No matter where you stand concerning our political world today, if you are a believer in Jesus, then this is a Psalm that applies to you. It only takes a cursory look to see that the world is chaotic and tumultuous. Our world’s condition reminds me of pieces of a puzzle thrown onto a table looking for some kind of order. And this chaos and disorder can easily drive us to become fearful. We can be fearful that the problems the world is facing are just too big. And we can start to believe that God’s hand of protection might not be enough!
Anne Farnum