Silver Linings

They say every cloud has a silver lining. I don't know that much about clouds, but I do know that God is faithful in spite of our difficulties and trials in life. My family has had a couple very clear examples of that in recent days.

Three days before we left on vacation the sump pump in our basement stopped working for a while and we got water in our basement. The carpet got soaked and we had to empty the basement (with the help of some wonderful guys) and then have a company come in to remove the padding under the carpet, suck out all the water they could, dry the carpet and then reinstall and clean it. It was and still is a mess as well as being a real pain. What we are so thankful for is that it did not happen while we were on vacation. We could have lost everything in the basement as well as had major damage to the walls, etc.

The second example happened while we were on vacation. My daughter Elizabeth had to have an emergency appendectomy. It was not a pleasant thing for any of us, especially being away from home. The provision of God was that we were not traveling and that we had incredible support. It was near the end of our vacation and if we had already been on the road it would have been so much more difficult. As it was, we were in an area we were familiar with, knew where the hospital was and had friends there who opened up their home for us to stay with them and who were able to stay with Elizabeth in the hospital while we packed up and checked out of the cabin we had been staying in. My parents were also there with us and were able to watch our two sons so my wife and I could be with Elizabeth.

Jesus told us that in this world we will have trouble, but he also promised he would always be with us and provide for us. I am so thankful for his presence and provision. He doesn't always remove the storm clouds, sometimes we have to go right through them - but he is right there with us! Thank you, God, for your blessings and help in spite of our difficult circumstances the past few weeks. "How great is our God!"