Catching Up

These past few weeks have been very busy. Quite a whirlwind, in fact. We ended March on a fabulous river cruise down the Rhine River through The Netherlands, Germany, France, and Switzerland. 

We have just returned from our J.O.Y. Club trip to the Ark Encounter and the Creation Museum in Kentucky. If you haven’t been there yet, add that to your bucket list!

In between, I had Covid. Again. Which meant I spent the Easter weekend quarantined in my bedroom, with Al masking up to bring me food and medicine.

I slept a lot during those quarantine days, since that was all I really felt like doing. When I was awake, since we don’t have a television in our bedroom (by design), I scrolled through Facebook and I spent a lot of time thinking. I didn’t have the energy to read.

But as I was scrolling, and as I was thinking, I came to some conclusions. 

I realized that there are a lot of things I really like that many people don’t. I love classical music. And pipe organs. Traditional choral music. Hymns. Inductive Bible study. Expository preaching. Black Coffee. Dark chocolate. Just to name a few. 

And I also realized that there a lot of things I don’t really care for that other people find appealing. Country music. Jeans with holes in them. Countdown clocks and prerecorded announcements in church. Praise teams. Awards shows. Wine. Avocados. Raisins. Oysters. Just to name a few.

But besides all these (mostly) trivial things, I had a lot of time to just spend thinking about God. Thinking about His love and His grace and His goodness. Thinking about how very blessed I am. Even with my health issues and my limitations, I am a blessed woman. 

And as I sit here in my chair this morning, looking out at the beauty of this spring day, I am reminded again of the goodness of God. 

Each of us could probably make a list of things that frustrate or discourage or aggravate us. But how much better to make a list of all the ways we have been blessed by God. Of all His grace gifts to us.

As I spent time last week being overwhelmed by the enormity of the Ark and by God’s plan and provision, and overwhelmed by God’s perfect design in Creation, I have to pause and give thanks in adoration and wonder. We serve an awesome God.

Why not take some time today to find a quiet spot and reflect on His goodness. His mercy. His love. His grace. 

“For from His fullness we have all received, grace upon grace.” (John 1:16 ESV)