Old-New News

Note: This post was originally written a week ago, but I've just gotten around to publishing it. Sorry for the delay.

It's been one of those weeks, and yet, I find that God has been teaching me quite a lot. To be more precise, it was the end of last week and the beginning of this week that were so rough. I've been sick, which is no fun in and of itself, but I was teaching a class on Saturday (a week ago) and felt horrible the night before, so I took the night off to sleep. I am not sure if I was feeling better or worse than our puppy, who got bit in the face by some insect and looked like a Shar-pei for the evening.

It turned out to be providential that I was at home, sick on Saturday morning, because at 6am, as I was laying awake in bed, feeling awful, I heard water running into our apartment from the burst hot water heater in the apartment above. I was able to move everything out of the way in time, but if I had been at work, the water would have run for at least 2 hours, probably ruining furniture, important files and our brand new computer.

Paisley still had a swollen face when I finally got her out of the kennel, so Kristen took her to the vet while I went to teach this class. The vet was unconcerned, and after a few more doses of Bendryl, she looked much better that evening. The rest of the week was pushing furniture around, a new carpet pad and shampoo and generally a lot of re-organizing everything that was hastily pushed away earlier.

But the small adversities I faced this week reminded me of two very important realities that I too often take for granted. First, the scope of difficulty that I face pales in comparison to the lives that so many people live daily. The day all this happened was also the day that a 8.8 earthquake struck the country of Chile, and the perspective on our little inconvenience is humbling. Please continue to pray for the people of Chile, and I once again recommend Baptist Global Response to give to relief efforts.

Second, I was reminded of the faithfulness of God. Sure, last weekend was rough, but it could have been many times worse. We weren't faced with a major vet bill, nor did we have to worry about replacing any of our stuff. And, in the grand scheme of things, our possessions have no everlasting value, and yet God was faithful to protect us from further difficulty and loss. A conversation with the pastor of a church that called me recently only affirmed again the faithfulness of God, as he was used by God to further make clear the direction of his call on our lives.

I'm grateful this week for God's grace and love. I'm grateful for his work in my heart, the shifting of my desires that changes my outlook on our material possessions from anxiety and fear to peace and comfort, even in the midst of difficulty. I'm thankful for the reality of the Gospel in my life this week.