So Much to Be Thankful For
Here are a few ways that I have been following Jesus every day in the everyday since my last post.
I felt led by the Spirit to write a five-part continuing drama for our church’s vacation Bible school, which, by His grace and power, we have successfully produced for nearly 100 elementary aged kids and more than 40 volunteers. The cast of teens worked so hard! I am so thankful for them and for the many others who contributed their amazing skills in all manner of stagecraft: lighting, sound, set building. artistic backdrops and flats. How beautiful is the body of Christ!
There was laughter, there were gasps as the villainous character fell under a rock slide. There were quiet sighs of delight as the truth of God’s wonderful plan of rescue of humanity unfolded. I was sustained by that same Spirit to endure the long days.
Immediately after the drama, the apple harvest began. God blessed our little dwarf apple with over 50 pounds of fruit that is good eating fresh but excels as canned goods. I was able to put up dozens of jars of pie filling, apple slices, apple sauce, dried apples and even a couple jars of pickles. Leaving a dozen or so jars cooling next to the outdoor stove (to be brought in and put away by a dear friend), the Hub and I boarded a crowded plane to visit a son and his family, where, again by the strength God provides, held our newest grandchild, played with his older sibling, and was able to perform several helpful tasks. God displayed His splendor in the gorgeous peony blossoms that opened while I was there, as well as in the snow-capped mountains on the horizon. Safely there and safely home, by God’s protection.
Resuming my normal responsibilities with ministry and house keeping, I find that He still seeks time with me, and carries me along on the path He has chosen, inviting me to participate fully with Him in my continuing transformation. He never stops.
In the midst of it all, either as an undercurrent or as a saturation, God has been at work, providing for our needs and blessing with some of our desires, while challenging some of our ideas about what “should” happen, for whatever purposes He has determined are the good ones. God never has a “plan B.” He is so wise and so good that everything He does, orchestrates or arranges in our lives is His “plan A!” A dear friend puts it like this: “If God had a better way to be doing it, He would be doing that!”
Papa-God, grant the grace and faith to trust You in every situation, knowing that whatever You do is the BEST plan.
Following Jesus every day in the everyday,
Christi
P.S. Now comes the fig season…I am looking for some new recipes to try. Any recommendations?
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