Grains of Sand

Pixabay I love the Fall. It was something I missed while living overseas. Our seasons there were only two—dry or rainy. There is something about the crispness of the air in the Fall that is so invigorating. The colours are beginning to change and markets are full of local goodness from abundant harvests. People are canning and freezing, storing up the tastes of summer to enjoy during the long days of winter. The seasons are also a permanent testimony to the steady, stable, faithful presence of God in a world that is not steady, stable or faithful. They are a testimony to "right side up" in an "upside down" world. Early in history, God made this promise: " As long as the earth endures, seedtime and harvest, cold and heat, summer and winter, day and night will never cease " (Genesis 8:22). Frost will touch the flowers. Leaves will fall. Snow will fly. Ice will melt. Buds will appear. Harvests will be planted and gathered. Frost will touch the f...

“ God is not a man, that he should lie, nor a son of man, that he should change his mind. Does he speak and then not act? Does he promise and not fulfill? ” —Numbers 23:19, NIV The story behind this statement comes courtesy of a somewhat wayward sorcerer by the name of Balaam. Balaam was asked by the King of Moab to curse Israel so that the Moabites could defeat them in battle. Balaam had already had a rather scary encounter with one of God’s angels when he tried to accommodate Israel’s enemies, so this time Balaam got it right. In verse 20 he explains to King Balak that God told him to bless Israel because that was his will and all Balaam could do was bless Israel. God’s purposes for his people were always benevolent ones even in their dark days of sin and the subsequent punishments that were necessary to get them back on track. Yesterday I had a mini-meltdown. It happens once in a while, especially when I am feeling overwhelmed or thwarted in my plans. Those are times when it ...