Lionel Richie wrote a song in the late seventies. The chorus says, “That’s why I’m easy……easy like Sunday morning…” Dear Mr. Richie…….I have never had an easy Sunday morning. This past weekend was no exception. Have you ever had a day that seemed so ridiculous you just had to sit back and laugh? Let me explain. My daughter needed to be taken to the doctor first thing Sunday morning due to fevers. We got up early, started on our way, and made it to church by 8:45am. Upon arrival I found out we had some bulbs that needed to be replaced before service began at 10. One of the men from my church and I went down to the fellowship hall to get them and set about fixing the issue. Upon arrival we noticed our fellowship hall had been (for lack of better terms) trashed. Upon further inspection, we realized the culprit was a possum. Animal control showed up and hauled him away. By the time we got home, my daughter had spiked another fever requiring my wife to stay home with her while I went back to church for a prayer service. I was forced to cover the media portion of our service (on software I was untrained on). The worship portion began and the computer software I was working on crashed……twice. I finally get things back up and running. Thinking things are finally going my way, I shifted in my seat to get more comfortable. As I shift, I noticed my pants felt awkward. I reached down to find out what was going on and, wouldn’t you know it, my pants had split leaving an inch and a half opening. I could have panicked or gotten frustrated, but I could only giggle at how absurd the day had been.
We all have those days. Some of us have those kinds of weeks. Some of us deal with unexpected issues that last for a year or longer. At some point, the instinct it to throw up our hands and simply give up. Life is NOT easy like Sunday morning. As I was reading recently about Noah I was reminded of one of my favorite thoughts when reading his story. Genesis 9:28 states, “After the flood Noah lived 350 years.” After the flood. He had figuratively and literally been through one of the biggest storms of his life. But there was life AFTER the flood. Harder seasons will come and go, but there will always be life after storms. There may be things that need to be repaired or cleaned up, but there is life after the storms. Are you stuck in your own flood today? Those floods can come in the form of worry, anxiety, frustration, hurt, or in any number of ways. At some point, they will end and the sun will shine again. As long as we have God on our side, we always have hope!
Closing remarks and encouragement: Press on, my friends. Don’t give up! Storms will come and go but the goodness of God remains the same. When everything around us seems like it is falling apart, He is the solid foundation on which we stand. If you feel weakened and don’t have the strength to continue, lean on Him today! Grab your umbrella, rain boots, and coat. It may get a little windy, but those clouds will eventually pass.
Have a blessed day and week, my friends!