When you're weary; feeling small...

I often joke to Steve after having written a blog that I am surprised as he is as to what comes out of my fingers.  I plan for my writing to go one way and then, somehow, it goes another, as though my fingers have a mind of their own and just type whatever comes through them.

This just happened.  Again.  As I was pondering what title to use for what I thought I was about to write, this old line from Simon and Garfunkel’s classic hit “Bridge Over Troubled Water” popped into my mind.  Are you as curious as I am to see where it leads?  Let’s go then!

Yesterday I was taking pictures of my beautiful tree, Alice, in my front yard.  Her leaves are splendid this time of the year and--especially from the front bedroom window--they radiate a brilliance of color that just begs one to stare at the scene before her.  However, as I was outside snapping away, I noticed something:  the leaves weren’t red.  They were more brownish, slightly orange, but definitely not the radiant red that I saw from my window just a few minutes prior.  How could this be?  I mean, I know my eyes aren’t as clear as they used to be but surely I could tell the difference between colors, couldn’t I?  

As I’ve been pondering that, it came to me that there are two sides (or more) to every story.  While I thought I saw things one way, when I later looked at them from another viewpoint, my thoughts changed.  Hmn.  So, I asked myself, what was going on here?  Was this not the same tree?  Indeed it was.  Was it not still beautiful?  Definitely!  Did the color of her leaves really matter then, in the grand scheme of things?  Welllll...I guess not.  Was she still doing her part to use her glory to praise our great Lord?  Yes!

{What does this have to do with the song, Stef?  I know, I know!  I’m wondering that too.}

While I continued to take a few other pictures, my camera stopped.  Thinking it was the battery, I was surprised to see that it was the disk instead.  There was no more room on it.  It was full.

Huh!  Guess I should go change it and get a new one.  

Because I like to label my disks for future reference, I put it into my computer to download the latest photos, and to also check to see when the first ones were taken.  Surprisingly, it was almost a year ago to the very day!  Wow!  

As I held that tiny little piece of data in my hand, I was reminded of something:  God’s knowledge of me is so vast.  He has me in the palm of His hand.  Does He use memory sticks, too? I wondered.  Does He have all of His kids’ lives on a thumb drive to record the events that have transpired through all of their lives?  That must be how He keeps it all straight!  

Okay, are you still with me?  All of these jumbled thoughts are rolling around in my head (per usual) but they all lead to the same point.  Ready for it?  

God is in control.  Of all of it.  Of all of us.  Whether we are having a bad day and feeling small or perhaps because we are weary from all that life has thrown out at us.  Pictures of places and people that are no longer in our realm may bring back sad memories.  Or, maybe this presidential situation has us looking at things from a different angle than this time last week as the outcome for who won was still not quite decided.  The ongoing debate of republicans versus democrats has some even questioning whom their true friends are.  Even though we are Americans, some are wondering if coexistence is even possible now.  

Regardless of how we feel, what we think, or what appears to be one way but might possibly be another, God has it all in the palm of His hand.  ALL of it.  Like my tree, He looks at things from all sides and what appears one way to some can be quite different to others but...But the tree is the same.  Its roots are still firmly entrenched in the solid ground and its mission has not changed.  

So, my tree and my disk are the objects of this blog today.  Both have beauty in them and both have stood the test of time, recording the highs and lows of the past.  Change is evident as one studies their beginning to their present.  For one, the time is over and a replacement part is needed to keep the records going (as in our new president).  For the tree, her story hasn’t stopped.  Yeah, she’s going to take a break this winter and rest a bit from the long spring and summer.  In January, she too will start anew and who knows what types of growth she will experience?

Wow!  Did not see this turning into something about the presidential race at all.  But then again, it fits, does it not?  America the Beautiful.  And not just that race, but the human race, the race to the finish line as we consider our time and God’s plans for us.  He has us in His hand, in His thoughts, and is preparing a kingdom for us like none other.  Our lives matter to Him and He sees all sides to whatever is going on within and around us.  Our time is limited, as is the amount of space on a SanDisk.  While some see our true colors, others are exposed to sides of us that some may not see.  But it’s what is on the inside that will ultimately reveal to them Whose we are.  Are we using our time and our beauty to reflect Christ?  That’s what really matters, friends.  

In conclusion, (thankfully because I think I am more muddled than when I first started writing), as Americans we are being watched.  As Christians, we are being studied, examined.  As our time continues, my hope is that we allow Christ Jesus to be our Bridge between our present situation with soon-to-be-President Trump and our future with our unchanging and powerful God.  It’s all about Him, friends, and it’s time to let our true colors show!