"Nevertheless"

A ccidents happen.  Sickness overwhelms us.  Violence fills our TV screens and social media every day. People die.   People are seriously injured.  Even the very young. Those that are left behind grieve horribly and our hearts break. Today I was in a conversation with a couple of young ladies.  We were talking about the  recent deaths of local teenagers and also about the school shootings that have occurred.  One  sad young lady told me that these are the reasons she doesn't want to have children. She didn't want them to live in a world where these horrible things happen. She didn't want her children to die young and untimely deaths. Wanting to protect possible future children, she is thinking of never having them at all. I immediately thought of my brother and sister who both passed away as young adults.   Greg at 24 and Karen at age 19. It was horrible.  It was unbearable, yet my parents and my siblings and I were called to bear it. Decades later I s

Psalm 85 [Psa 85:4, 6-7, 9-13 NKJV] 4 Restore us, O God of our salvation, And cause Your anger toward us to cease. ... 6 Will You not revive us again, That Your people may rejoice in You? 7 Show us Your mercy, LORD, And grant us Your salvation. ... 9 Surely His salvation [is] near to those who fear Him, That glory may dwell in our land. 10 Mercy and truth have met together; Righteousness and peace have kissed. 11 Truth shall spring out of the earth, And righteousness shall look down from heaven. 12 Yes, the LORD will give [what is] good; And our land will yield its increase. 13 Righteousness will go before Him, And shall make His footsteps [our] pathway. His people had once again been rebellious, just as we all can be. They were held captive by their sin, yet they longed for their relationship with God to be restored. I can relate. I have times in my life when my relationship with Him is not what it should be. Times when I just want to hide from Him even though everything

W e go about our lives letting every little thing filter into our thoughts and into our attitudes.  From dreading the Monday morning alarm going off, to worrying about relationships, finances, paying the bills. Can we afford groceries this week? Will we be able to pay for the kid’s new clothes, shoes? Oh wow! The car needs gas. Again? For Heaven’s sake, a birthday or holiday is coming up! How will we manage that? The doctor’s report? Not to mention the normal every day stuff that goes along with co-workers, friends, “the boss”, birth, death, taxes. Did I mess that up? Did I say or do the wrong thing? Is he / she mad? Will I get to keep my job? Does he / she love me? I’m not good enough. Am I pretty enough? How did I get into this mess? Again!? The list is endless. At least it seems that way to us. These not so little things add up and become giant crashing waves in our lives. We let life get in the way of living. Worry and dread are nothing more than the devil attempting to