Mandy and I return to “normal life” starting today. We’ve had a great time having her parents stay with us for the past week on their vacation from Florida. We took them to do, see & eat all things Austin. After a week of visiting, they took off yesterday afternoon to head home.
Mandy and I were having a conversation last night about trials & circumstances that don’t turn out as planned. Seems we’re experiencing these times in greater numbers than we’re accustomed to. Without going into detail, we’ve had experiences over the past month or so that have turned out differently than we had planned. A visit to the nursing home last week to see mom turned into an unexpected meeting about mom’s rapid decline in health and possible homegoing sooner than later. We were also given some commitments from people over the past few months that ended up not being upheld.
It’s in these times that we have the potential, if we’re not careful, to carry a “woe is me” attitude on our shoulders. I have been studying various commands of God these past few weeks. This week, I’ve been looking at the command to rejoice. I love what Bill Gothard has to say about it:
“Wisdom is basing responses on the bigger picture. This means recognizing that whatever happens to us is not the whim of fate, or the will of man, but the work of God. If a sparrow cannot fall to the ground without God’s approval, neither can anyone attack us without God’s permission.”
Though it would be much easier to skate through life with no challenges or hard times, I am thankful that in the midst of uncertainty and disappointments, we have an advocate with our Father. It is a good reminder that even in those times, we are called to rejoice.
“Blessed are ye, when men shall revile you, and persecute you, and shall say all manner of evil against you falsely, for my sake. Rejoice, and be exceeding glad: for great is your reward in heaven: for so persecuted they the prophets which were before you” (Matthew 5:11–12).
