I have heard the phrase “The Lord works in mysterious ways” practically all of my life. I find it interesting that I’ve heard that so much and yet I’m still surprised by the God of the Bible. I’ve come to realize that may be the point. There are two stories in the Bible that have helped me in this realization. Both involve people we might not have chosen if given our choice. Both have similar outcomes.

Life is complicated. It is full of struggles every single day. Some struggles are obviously more significant or carry a little heavier weight than others. At the same time, it is hard to know just how heavy another person’s burdens may be in the moment so we should always avoid comparing our burdens to anyone else’s. At the end of the day, burdens are burdens.

This past week was Read Across America Week. I’m almost certain that most parents of elementary students were fully aware of that fact. There were dress up days, crazy sock days, and other creative ideas to encourage students to think about the benefits and fun of reading. It always falls on the first week in March because of the March 2nd birthday of famed author Theodor Seuss Geisel, better known simply as Dr. Seuss.

What causes a plant to grow? That answer, I understand, is certainly multifaceted. Most need sunlight and water. They need to be planted in the right soil and they need to be protected from the elements in some way. However, it is still amazing to think that most large trees come from a tiny seed and there may be secrets of how exactly that happens firmly grasped in the hands of God.

It is one of those phenomenons that is hard to fully explain. You hear coaches and players and commentators speak of the magic of momentum when it comes to the flow of the game. It often takes off suddenly, but can just as abruptly come to a halt. A basketball team may suddenly start hitting every shot and get several takeaways in a row. A football team may completely see a shift of momentum when a linebacker intercepts a pass and takes it in for a touchdown. You also may have the opposite experience if you are the team on the other side of those big plays. Your momentum may come to a screeching halt.

As I flip through the song book and think about the hymns I grew up on, as well as songs that I’ve learned since then, I’ve noticed that there are a lot of songs about storms. There is Shelter in the Storm written by Vernon Charlesworth in the 1880s that declares “Jesus is a rock in a weary land...a shelter in the time of storm.” Even songs that kids sing at VBS, chapel, and children’s Bible hours have words like “with Christ as my vessel I can smile at the storm” and “the rains came down as the floods came up.”

You only get so many—

That’s what I’ve heard them say

So many sunrises

As you journey on life’s way.

This past week in our ministry, we have been looking at the prophet, Nathan. Not much is said about Nathan in scripture, but most of us are familiar with the story of Nathan having an essential conversation with King David.

It is always hard to believe when we swap the calendar over to different year. The older I get the faster the calendar pages seem to turn. I was warned of this phenomenon for most of my life and then when kids became a part of my life it seemed like it really sped up. 2023 found one of my kids graduating from high school. He was only a few years old when we moved to Highland Park Church of Christ what seemed like on a few years ago—but was actually 15 1/2 years ago. I don’t have toddlers in my home anymore—they are all growing up and doing so much too fast.

“Marley was dead, to begin with. There is no doubt whatever about that.”

If you are into the history and celebration of Christmas then you have likely heard or read those words. They are the opening lines to the beloved holiday classic, A Christmas Carol by Charles Dickens. As most of you likely are aware, the story begins by introducing us very quickly to the characters of Ebenezer Scrooge and his deceased business partner, Jacob Marley. Seven years after his death Marley appears to Scrooge dragging his heavy chains and money boxes which were forged by him in a lifetime of greed and selfishness. According to the Dickens story, he has been doomed to carry those weights with him for eternity. The fate will be similar for the miserly Scrooge if the course of his life, and the condition of his heart, is not altered.