10-27-11

Dear Family of faith,
Have you ever felt beaten up by the stresses of the day? That was the kind of day I had today. Jill and I were supposed to take our hot air balloon ride this morning (second attempt) but it was called off due to wind. When I got to the office, I discovered that my newly installed email account did not work correctly (A big thanks to Karen Schrader who spent hours straightening it out!). Then the smoke alarms started going off so I was scrambling to disable them for the sake of those of us in the building. I answered the phone about two dozen times and the door about half a dozen times, not to mention all the calls I made to try to straighten things out with the alarm company and cable company! I was ready for a stiff drink and it wasn't even five o'clock! But then, I went to choir rehearsal and, there, as if appointed by God to be my angel, Addy Hackl (who knew nothing of my day) gave me a sheet of 29 little thoughts to think about. Among them were these two: "No one can ruin your day without your permission" and "When things go wrong, don't go with them." Coincidence? Hardly! After singing about God's beautiful world and going on to Bible study to teach about the grace of God and the sacrifice of Jesus, my rattled spirit grew more calm, and I "came to myself" again. Gratitude does wonders for the soul. If you find yourself beaten up by life, do something that will bring you close again to God's beauty and love. And be thankful, for what rattles you today will pass tomorrow.