At the right time

It has been a fairly busy few days catching up from my trip to Alabama and then spending this past weekend in Raleigh/Durham with friend Keith.  I was delighted to meet his friend Julie and catch up on some of the activities he has been involved in.  He has been building a large fish pond that is a rather major project with lots of plumbing and electrical work to make it operate properly.  This is not one of those simple do-it-yourself projects.  It is constructed of concrete and will have a ceramic tile surface when completed.  He did all of the design work for the pool and the tile pattern. Quite a project to work in during spare time!  On Sunday he and Julie invited his mother and brother for dinner and the five of us enjoyed some fantastic cooking.   It was great to spend time together but I always feel that I return home several pounds heavier.

Tomorrow I am heading for Sebring Florida with a couple from the office.  SIM has a large retirement center there, and they want us to go down and check it out.  At this time of life, I suspect that it is good to evaluate such options, but I have to admit that it is not as much fun to being doing it without Carol.  The years certainly have gone by rapidly but I am thankful for the strength and health that the Lord has given me.  Again this morning I made my weekly 4:00 AM trip to the warehouse to pick up donated bread for the mission.  It is always a tremendous help in keeping our guest house kitchens supplied as well as providing items for the larger meals served on campus.  The last time I actually calculated the value of the items donated, it was over $1,000.

This morning I finished reading the book of Jeremiah.  As I think about how this unlikely candidate as a prophet and proclaimer was used of God, I realize that there is no such thing as inadequacy when God is working in and through us.  It is extremely easy to just plainly give up when we forget God’s promises to each of us.  Recently I read that someone had counted the promises in Scripture which run into the thousands.  In Isaiah 60 we read about amazing promises in the future for the nation and the chapter ends with “…At the right time, I, the Lord, will make it happen.”  (Isaiah 60:22b)  That is something that I am trying to learn in my life when I get a bit anxious about something.  He is the one that can and will make it happen…in His time, His way and according to His will.  Okay, maybe now I can relax!

As always…thanks for your prayers as we travel.

Love, Chuck