This is a foggy overcast morning on the Great American Desert. Yesterday, on the other hand, was a perfect winter's day. The sun blazed through the great window which face south providing all of our plants with enough rays to continue growing and blooming. Snickers spent much of the day laying in the sun on his new "bed" a black and red ladybug that my wife could not resist at the local Walmart. We have only two grocery outlets in our fair city, the Walmart "superstore," and HyVee. When I first purchased this home in 1993 there were five grocery outlets and an independent meatmarket. Progress, I have heard, is good for the economy. There are times, though, when "progress" simply limits our choices. Personally I like a lot of choices. So does the little Chihuahua, Snickers, who has adopted Cheryl and I as his "people." Cheryl purchased the ladybug pillow after Valentine's Day for a pittance of what it had sold for a few days prior. Her logic extended to providing Snickers with another choice to make concerning where to veg out. He has a carrier which is employed for travel and home confinement when he gets too excited about guests. Then there is the fully insulated indoor house which looks a little like a small footstool, chair and couch pillows if they happen to be in the "right" place, our bed if the door is open, and that was about it until the ladybug arrived. It is so soft and cuddly that I really can't blame him for enjoying it when it is right there in the sun up off the floor which is invariably colder than the rest of the house this time of the year. But, I'm losing track of the thought I wanted to share. LOL...like I don't do that much of the time these days! Yesterday Gordon and I had many choices, they all concerned the music that we were going to rehearse. One of the agents has decided that we need to "put something together" so he can have us performing on the road for the endless summer days that are awaiting us. I suppose we are going to have to make choices. Everyone has to make choices about their lives. I'm one of those folks who truly detests change. I know, it is inevitable, unavoidable, and that in the greater scheme of life I'll be able to look back and appreciate change for what it truly is....an "excercise" in choices! Each of us has to do that with our faith, as well. Today, for instance,I could have chosen to sleep through the morning and avoid the dreariness of the outdoors, not to mention the damp(that word has a "p" in it)cold. But what about church? My mind yells through the fog my morning coffee will assist in clearing? During the season of lent maybe I should have sacrificed my presence in Sunday worship to make space for another person just waiting to take their seat in the congregation.
Choices! We all make them every day. Some are imposed by the world we live in, others by the circumstances surrounding our lives. Most importantly for enjoying this life we have been gifted with the choice of living in faithful response to our loving Creator. I pray this is verily a "Happy Sunday" for you! In Christ's Love, Preacher.
