Oh, my goodness, what a week it has been! Monday – School Bus in-service training early, my third funeral in as many weeks that afternoon, continued School Bus pre-service training that evening from 6:00-9:15, Tuesday – worked at Kohl’s from 7:00 and supposed to go until 3:00 but ended up at the dentist, then School Bus pre-service training from 6:00-8:45, Wednesday – worked at Kohl’s from 6:00 and supposed to work until 2:30 but ended up with a root canal(!), then School Bus pre-service training from 6:00-8:45, Thursday – worked on my sermon all day with a run to a local School Bus compound for some practice with then finished up my School Bus pre-service training from 6:00-9:15 (I passed my test, too!), Friday – worked at Kohl’s from 7:00-3:00 then had to get my truck in the shop with an air conditioner that had stopped working in temperatures reaching towards 90° just about every day for the past week(!), to the hospital to encourage a dear friend and her family, then up until after midnight finishing up bulletins  and PowerPoint for worship on Sunday. And you may have wondered why only Monday’s blog was a fresh one!

Am I tired? Oh, yes! But was it worth it? Definitely! Two more things were checked off my list to eventually be a certified School Bus driver in the state of Ohio for Olentangy Local Schools (I have quite a bit more training to go through and a big pre-trip and driving test the middle of November – prayers appreciated!), my tooth is no longer killing me thanks to a perceptive dentist and talented endodontologist, I have a job that meets my needs on multiple levels and a management team that is patient and understanding when I have issues, I have a reliable dealership that I can trust to take care of my vehicle and most importantly, I serve a Savior who enabled me to get through the entirety of it in the midst of all the craziness. AND…still, He used me to touch people as only He can do.

I don’t enjoy officiating at funerals nor do I look forward to comforting those who know a funeral is but a few breaths into their future. But in the midst of it all God is there – comforting us, caring for us, holding us, weeping with us. And He is my Father, and I so much want to be like Him. I comfort, I care, I hold, I weep. Because my Father loves, I love, too.

I stumble. I fall – quite often flat on my face. I am far from perfect but I know that I am also much more than useless. God has a plan for my life as He does for you.

11 “For I know the plans I have for you,” says the Lord. “They are plans for good and not for disaster, to give you a future and a hope. 12 In those days when you pray, I will listen. 13 If you look for me wholeheartedly, you will find me. 14 I will be found by you,” says the Lord… Jeremiah 29:11-14

Amen.

Sept 23rd, 2018, Sun, 7:49 pm