The hot and humid days of summer are giving way to the fresh, cool and crisp air of fall. Some trees are already giving us a hint of the rich color that will burst forth as the season passes from summer to fall.
For many of us fall is a favorite season full of change, new schedules and revitalized energies. The smell of new notebooks, paper, sharpened pencils and new books are like batteries that charge us up after the hot August nights. Fall is also a time of reflection, looking back to see from where we have come and looking forward to where we are headed.
This has been a full summer for us. Time has swept us by at break-neck speed. The 35 mile bike ride that we rode in June is becoming a distant memory. We are still pinching ourselves to think it is behind us. It was a journey of faith for us and has had a deep and abiding affect on our souls. It sometimes seems odd what means God uses to produces greater spiritual growth in our lives. Just as the cool breezes of fall are invigorating after the prolonged days heat and humidity, so are the ways we see evidences of God's movement in our lives.
Trusting in someone or something can be a very hard thing to do. Sometimes God calls us to trust in him even in the most unusual or adverse circumstances. The Bible is full of opportunities for us to learn that He is, indeed, trustworthy. We need to believe that it true. Byron and I took on the challenge to do a 35 mile bike ride even when it seemed like the odds were against us. It was an opportunity for us to trust that no matter what the outcome would be, GOD IS STILL GOD. He takes the broken and weak in us to teach us to trust Him more.
As I reflect on this passing summer, I do so with a thankful heart. God continues to take this broken jar of clay and mold it and shape it into His image. I want more than anything for this jar of clay " to show that the surpassing power belongs to God and not to us," (2 Corinthians 4:7), and that, "For the sake of Christ, then, I am content with weakness, insults, hardships, persecutions, and calamities. For when I am weak, then I am strong." (2 Corinthians 12:10).
Thank you for sharing. I am encouraged to remember that in those unusual and adverse circumstances, God shows us Himself in the most amazing ways. Trusting God is so easy to know, but hard to "do". When I trust Him in rough seas, the next storm that comes my way enables me to draw from what He has already shown me... that He loves me, and that He is trustworthy.
ReplyDeleteHow very true, Laura.
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