Life

Life – There are few guarantees as we move through life. My life, even today, has been disrupted in small ways. I got ready to come to church but had to stop and shut off the water to the house because one of the outside hydrants was leaking. Unplanned expense and something to add to the ToDo List!

The water is shut off, now it’s time to get to work and finish the bulletin, right? If only it could be so easy! I hear a commotion behind me as I’m going out our first gate. It’s the one you have to get out and open and close yourself, nothing automatic here!

Well, the commotion is a dog fight between two of the dogs that have never fought before, and it is an ugly one. I wait until one has the upper hand, take them both down to the ground, put my knee on the dominant one’s jaw, and free the one getting the worst whoopin’. Now, it took about five minutes to do that, and I am covered in dog slobber, dirt, and blood!

Time to separate the two dogs. This is a battle of wills, to keep them apart long enough to get each one locked away from the other. There is some minor do-it-yourself vet work to do on one. Next, back to the shower to wash the dirt, slobber, and blood off and to change clothes.

What was supposed to be an early start to the day ended up taking an extra 90 minutes before I was finally out that gate and in the car on the way to the church! Life is not dull, is it? There are times we would rather it would be, we even wish it could be, but it’s not.

My little sidebars to the day are nothing like some of the curves other people are handed on a regular basis, even some of you. Mine are just the little inconveniences, minor events that eat away at the time I thought I had to accomplish things. Some of you have found out that the stock market has managed to make a large portion of your expected retirement vanish. Others, assuming their “golden years” would be full of relaxation, travel, and taking it easy are confronted with another reality – something that steals time, dreams, and energy to name only a few.

When I first looked at the picture above I thought of three different paths and pitied the people being pulled in three different directions. However, look at the sign again. You may even have seen it the first time. In order for that sign to exist, there must be a place where all three of these things come together! There is some place where Life, Work, & Home all intersect and offer some degree of peace and harmony. The only place that intersection exists is in the presence of the Holy Spirit, in that place where we are reminded that Jesus Christ is still in control, even when we feel like our lives are so out of control! Christ doesn’t promise the path our life journey follows will always be broad and level with multiple refreshment stops along the way. He only promises that He will walk each step of the journey with us, from the very beginning – all the way through! AMEN.

Pastor Craig