Finding Good Things in Bad Times

It’s been a rough week. Jimmy is in Africa which leaves me as a single parent of four (make it five) active girls.

A beloved grandparent is suffering through some hard medical times. The whole extended family hurts along with him.

Celebrity status doesn’t affect me; people are people, regardless. But Robin Williams’ suicide hit me kind of hard. It’s rough to see such a beloved entertainer reach that level of despair.

Ferguson, Missouri, is a mess right now. 

The Middle East has been a simmering cauldron for too long. It appears it may be about to boil over. The terror of ISIS, combined with the war between Israel and Hamas has also weighed heavy on me. That’s not to mention the Syrian conflict, Iran’s continued pursuit of nuclear weapons, and Putin’s actions in the Ukraine. All of it may play a role in the onset of very dire times.

Every afternoon I have a cup of coffee. During these hot summer months, I usually drink it iced, flavored with sugar and half & half. Stay with me…this is connected to the first part of my article.

This week that afternoon coffee has tugged at my heart. For some reason, I found myself being conscientiously thankful for that coffee each day. Perhaps it was the Spirit’s prompting. I held that cup each afternoon and was acutely aware that God blesses even in hard times.

This may sound silly. Imagine how I felt, however, when this series of text messages came in from Jimmy regarding their current project in Africa…

God is good. We are completely finished with the electrical work. Big Daddy R will now get some quality time with his grandchildren. It’s fun, fun as I sit here and watch him be a jungle gym for their young birthday girl. Doc’s birthday is today, also. Sitting in an air cooled, 78° house while the temperatures soar outside is an awesome birthday present.

It was great to see the joy on Posey’s face when she got to make iced coffee for the first time. Then, I saw the joy on Doc’s face when he got to taste it. These are the simple things we in America take for granted – things we think we have to have to survive.

Lights, cooling fans, and refrigeration will make Doc and Posey’s work in the desert so much easier as they bring living water to this dry land. 

We have seen and heard good things.