By Rev. Donald Schatz

It Happens.

You can listen to today’s devotion by clicking on this SoundCloud link.

“They cried to you and were saved; in you they trusted and were not disappointed.” 
Psalm 22:5, New International Version

In preparation for our whole house and front porch being painted, I recently removed three boards from said porch, because they looked a bit ‘sketchy.’  I’m pretty sure that’s the technical term.  What I discovered was that more than half of the decking was ‘sketchy,’ and all of the structure underneath was full of dry rot.  It turned out that the entire porch was poorly made, and out of improper materials.  The whole thing had to be torn out and rebuilt.  Well, I did salvage the steps!

I was not a happy camper that day, truth-be-told.  It was a blessing that our daughter and grandsons arrived for a week’s visit that same morning.  God provides encouragement in all sorts of ways, in my experience.  I was pretty disappointed and discouraged that morning.

“They cried to you and were saved….”  I didn’t cry, though I wanted to do so!  However, I do remember just giving it all to the Lord in prayer, asking for patience, and for relief from the worry that can so easily claim me.  He saved me from that worry, thanks be to God!  In the end, my disappointment was turned into the energy to repair the porch correctly.

If you are a home-owner, you know that such surprises are not all that rare.  If you are prone to anxiety, like me, you know that such things can put you over the edge.  I work daily at trusting the Lord, especially in the little things.  I truly do trust him with my life, and my death.  It’s the day-to-day that finds me flailing away, as though the Lord can’t be included and trusted in those things as well.

If you are a human being this side of the Fall and the Resurrection, you know that such surprises are not limited to home-ownership.  God is with you, even in disappointment.  Trust him even in, and with, the ‘little things.’

Copyright Holy Cross Lutheran Church, Colorado Springs, CO