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Ever since we got married in July, we keep finding cards around our house.  We suspect it was one of my sisters. 

Regardless of the suspects, their crime has been one of encouragement.  Here is the card we found yesterday!

Ron & Cynthia

• May you lift your eyes to the hills –
• May your help come from the Lord , the Maker of heaven & earth.
• May He not let  your foot slip
• May He watch over you – and be your shade
• May the Lord keep you from all harm and watch over your lives;
• May He watch over your coming & going both now & forevermore.

Ps. 121

Ever heard one of those phrases that just sticks. 

In the midst of our Sunday service, Nyla Ditson was speaking.  She is one of our young adults, currently studying in Saskatoon, whom I have watched grow up over the last eight years.

Nyla was talking about her own life – the ups and downs, the struggles and the joys, the life that squeezes and the life that frees.

In the midst of  this talk, she threw in a phrase that can change how we think about God. 

Often we approach life with a “what if” attitude.  We almost expect that everything is going to blow up.  Life will deteriorate “if” this happens. 

How about having an “even if” attitude?  When the worst thing that can happen is imagined – we still trust God can work in that situation.  This is a whole different picture.

I’m trying to put this phrase into action.  This past weekend our one remaining church charter member, Muriel Plum, passed away.  A great and gracious, godly lady.  “What if” would imagine that there can be no one like her again, the church will deteriorate and we will gradually cease to exist.  “Even if” imagines that her example, though now gone, can generate a whole new generation of godly followers of Jesus, and the church will grow in stature with both God and community.

Two contrasting phrases, both spoken in the same situation, can be worlds apart!

Months ago I had been asked to perform a wedding on Thanksgiving weekend.  In a small town called Winnipeg.  About 10 hours away.

With my marriage this summer, we discussed this as one of the activities that our first few months would include.  As we worked through logistics, the idea was to travel in stages on the way there, and then hike home quickly on Thanksgiving Monday.  This was the skeleton of the plan.

As it happened, the marriage fell in between a number of other activities that arose over these past few weeks.

The split drive had us stay overnight in Regina.  There we visited with relatives from Cynthia’s side.  The time together also included an early morning paper route before leaving for Winnipeg.

The drive back began early yesterday morning.  Last week we had a request to stop in at my sister’s for a Thanksgiving meal.  Although an hour extra driving, we wanted to honor this request.  At noon we stopped in Regina once again, and visited with Cynthia’s relatives.  We were soon on the way to a turkey dinner scheduled for 3:00, at my sister’s.  After a time of visiting there we headed back to Kindersley. 

2,100 kilometers covered and lots of visiting sandwiched in!!  A true thanksgiving weekend.

I find it interesting.

On Monday night, 0ur town dump flared up.  Flames could be seen shooting 20 feet (7 meters?) into the sky.  We were oblivious to the catastrophe until the morning.  We opened our window (yes, it is getting cold here) and soon wondered if we had an electrical fire had erupted in the house.

As the day progressed, various bulletins let us know that the fire was contained, we were in a local state of emergency, and that the waste management center was closed.

A thick blanket of smoke were seen earlier in the day.  With the direction the wind was blowing, parts of the town did not even know that the dump was on fire.  Rumours soon clouded the town – almost as thick as the smoke itself!

As the day ended plans were still being put into place.  Provincial assistance had arrived.  The fire was contained.  Now what?

One of the greatest fears is toxic smoke.  Not flames and spreading fire.  But smoke.  Filled with particles of poison.  Able to float into the least likely places.

  Which is more deadly – the fire or the smoke?

I used to say – where this is smoke there is fire.  I think I will revise that – where there is a fire there is smoke.