Friday, August 29, 2014

A Word of Encouragement

"The Lord is not slow about His promise, as some count slowness, but is patient toward you, not wishing for any to perish but for all to come to repentance" (2 Peter 3:9).

Hey Gang:  In the last Gramps Morning Thought I shared a small chunk of our wonderful weekend in Shipshewana celebrating our 57th anniversary. While there we had the joyous opportunity to enjoy the play "Josiah For President".  As I was out cutting wood this week, I could not get the powerful message that was the theme of the musical out of my mind. 

But, before I begin to share some of those thoughts, I need to share a very important point pertaining to our 57 years of bliss together as one in Christ.   I am very proud to share the wonderful news that, of all the weddings I was blessed to conduct, I have not had one end up on the rocks of divorce. 

My message to the young couple was one that has been the foundation of our marriage from the moment we said our " I do's".  Solomon, the second wisest man to walk the earth, knew a wee bit about marriage - he had a whole barn full of wives.  He gave us the following piece of advice that, if it is the foundation of your marriage and relationship, your marriage will sustain even the most sever adversities like the loss of a child.

He wrote:  "Two are better than one because they have a good return for their labor.  For if either of them falls, the one will lift up his companion.  But woe to the one who falls when there is not another to lift him up.  Futhermore, if two lie down together they keep warm but how can one be warm alone?  And if one can overpower him who is alone, two can resist him.  A cord of three strands is not quickly torn apart" (Ecc. 4:9-12). 

At the Blue Gate Theater that night there was the normal packed house and, as is the case in each performance, the host did a quick research project asking where folks were from, if there were any birthdays and anniversaries.  We were third, one couple was celebrating their sixty- third year as help mates to each other, another 58 years.  I noticed something else that in today's world seemed very strange, there were very few singles and due to the age of those singles, I would suggest they had lost their mate.

Oh, by the way, I was blessed to only perform one wedding! 

Soooo, I did not get to those things I wanted to share that were going through my mind as I cut wood this week, and I am fixen’ to get my working threads on and get back into the wood pile this morning. So, perhaps they will appear in the next blog.

But, before I wrap this up, I want to share a couple thoughts from a neat little book titled Amish Proverbs, written by Susan Woods Fisher.   The Amish (Plain People) are creators of proverbs for just about every facet of life and all are in the same vein of Jesus parables.  They have overt and covert meanings and are almost impossible to miss the point they are trying to make.

Such proverbs as, "God is there to give us strength for every hill we have to climb"; "Never doubt in the dark what  God has shown you in the light"; and "Trusting God turns problems into opportunities";  “Focus on God's provision to endure a difficult circumstance”. 

So, before you shut down the electronic device you are reading this on, go back and read once more the proverbs; it is very probable that you will find an alligator or two snipping at your heals very soon and need to know God's provisions are there for you, if you ask Him.


Blessings,  

Gramps

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