Write your plans in pencil, but etch your faith with pen.
Begin with, “If the Lord wills…”, so you’ll still trust Him when
The twists and turns of this life lead to an unplanned end.
The God Who sees the finish is present in each bend.

As I thought and prayed about resuming my blog, this poem started to unfold in my mind. During the twists and turns of the past year, the road of life has often seemed uncertain. Illness, accidents, death and transitions have been the physical landmarks along the path. While the circumstances were very real, life often seemed surreal as the familiar and comfortable were replaced with confusion and pain.

Though unseen, and often hard to comprehend, one thing was constant: the faithful Presence of the Sovereign Lord. Did I always feel like that was the case? No. Did I always embrace His will? No. Did I keep a right perspective on the temporal and the eternal? Not always. And to a dozen other important questions about my consistency, many of the answers could be no.

At times, I panicked while God remained patient; I worried while God waited; I was confused while God remained constant; I was doubtful while God directed the present into the future. As always, God is the Hero in my story. Through the rear-view mirror of life I can more clearly see Him using EVERYTHNG and wasting nothing. I am His and I have committed my life to Him. He is involved, unsurprised, and absolutely able to complete the good work He has begun.

God’s work in our lives doesn’t begin when we decide we might be interested in considering whether or not He exists. The sun comes up each morning, the seasons change, the rain falls, the fruit trees yield at the proper time, and countless other things that we don’t often stop to consider are all gifts from the hand of a loving Creator. The difficulties and the delights of life don’t change Who He is, but they have the capacity to lead us to contemplate His reality and our need for Him. Which leads right into the part of The Bridge from OneDayBow that we’ll look at next time. If the Lord wills…

Before signing off, thank you to all who prayed for my husband, Bill. I am glad and grateful to report that his recovery has been tremendous! While he has a few lingering aches and pains, that remind him of his mortality, we are deeply thankful for God healing his body and extending his life. God doesn’t always do so. In August, God chose to take my precious Mom Home to Heaven. The God Who knew her finish was present in each bend. Her faith in Jesus Christ was etched in pen, and in the end that is what really matters.