Dear SCC & Friends,
My times are in Thy hand… ~Psalm 31:15
Reflection #153
One of my favorite movies is It’s a Wonderful Life. It’s the story of a man who harnessed his personal ambitions to what was needed for the good of others. At times he felt trapped into “an ordinary life,” but stayed the course building friendships and community while rarely thinking of himself. He did the right things and lived for the right reasons. Yet, through no fault of his own, his world came crashing down and thought he had lost everything. He despaired for his life and wished he had never been born… The plot thickens through divine intervention. He gets an eye-opening picture of what his family, friends and community would have been if he had never been born… no parents, no wife, no children, his brother would have drowned… the same brother who would later win the Congressional Medal of Honor. His non-existence resulted in the town becoming an eyesore of slums and moral degradation. In the final scene he sees the light, comes to his senses and cannot contain his joy and gratitude for simply being alive.
Man’s extremity is God’s opportunity. ~Anon.~ I would have despaired unless I had believed that I would see the goodness of the Lord in the land of the living. ~Ps. 27:13 Context and perspective are so important. He’s with us in every situation, at all times, in all places. Most of us know the joy of the mountaintop and at some level have experienced the despair of the valley. Mountaintops are for views and inspiration, but fruit is grown in the valleys. ~Billy Graham~ The Lord of the mountaintop is also the Lord of the valley. Even though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I fear no evil; for you are with me… ~Ps. 23:4 That’s all we need…He will never leave or forsake us, both now and forever… Surely goodness and lovingkindness will follow me all the days of my life, and I will dwell in the house of the Lord forever ~Ps. 23:6 Indeed, our times are in His hand… Keep up the good work!
Made for these days,
Kevin