Monthly Archives: December 2016

My job these last few days has been to scrape wallpaper off walls.  Not at our house (we don’t have any wallpaper – a curse or something like that accompanies the dreaded wall decor??).  At another house.

First you find the easiest type to remove.  I thought the “mactac” type would be the easiest to remove.  Which was true.  But then you have to find a way to remove the adhesive.  Usual methods (water) doesn’t work.  A mix of concentrated cleaner and water was much better.  With a few extra rounds of rinsing.  Time consuming but the wall was prepared for the next step.

My favourite was the vinyl type which separated from the backing fairly easily.  Then you spray the backing with water and scrape it off the wall.  A quick rinse and you are ready!

And so my day went.  My knowledge and expertise increased as the day increased.  To say the least, I am now a medium novice of mediocre ability.

My fame is ever increasing!

Hope is a four letter word we all need.  We have faith to believe that tomorrow will come.  That hope keeps us from despair in terms of the faithfulness of God and the belief that the next step we take has meaning.

These are great thoughts, and I love philosophizing and theologizing.

I also live with people who are in burnout and poverty and circumstances that are not nice.  They arise in the morning with the sense that today will happen – but that doesn’t make it easy or pretty.

I guess that’s where love comes into play.  God loves me – even before I recognized his presence.  When I enter into an awareness of God’s love, when I accept his offer of connection through Jesus, then I have a daily opportunity to rest.

Rest in an assurance that the day will pass, but also that I will be enclosed in a shelter in the time of storms.

The present presence takes us beyond future promises.  These three remain: faith, hope and love.  I’m glad love sustains me each day.