Beautiful leaves, Covered Bridges... and a reminder of Grace!

           What a beautiful time of the year this is!!! I love fall – my favorite season out of the year. I love the smells, the colors, the crisp air, the crunchy leaves… although right now the leaves are more soggy than crunchy… My senses just seem more alive during fall.

            Tim and I decided we would combine a color tour and a visit with our 2 kids at school in Louisville this weekend. So Saturday morning we packed our overnight bag and a picnic lunch in the car and off we went.

            Our first stop was the Covered Bridge festival. I have heard of this event ever since we first moved to Indiana almost 20 years ago but had never been. Oh my – all the people!! Wall to wall people! But that was actually more in the little towns that had all the tents of crafts and food. The roads to see all the covered bridges weren’t quite so bad.

            I felt sorry for Tim, though, because I kept telling him to “stop – pull over so I can get this picture.” Of course the pictures won’t capture the incredible display of color and majesty – but will remind us of all the beauty we did see!

            We drove down to Louisville and had a wonderful time with Andrew and Carissa. We got to see where they both work and meet some of their friends. We also went to church with them. (Another reason for this weekend visit was that we were able to attend and rejoice in the baptism of our friends, Paul and Geri’s, son.)  

            The pastor spoke from Matthew 20 - the parable of the land owner who hired men to work his field. This is actually the same parable our small group had studied last year – the very one that whacked me over the head regarding the grace of God and what I don’t deserve but have been so generously given! (I wrote about that in a blog in March called the Ping Pong Effect.)

            I guess God thought I wasn’t done with this parable and its’ application. I walked away from this sermon with some more things to think about. When I boil it all down – this is what I am being prompted to do:

Be grateful

Serve faithfully

Be amazed at God’s amazing generosity

A drive in the country, some antique stores... and a reminder

          This weekend Tim and I packed up our lunch, grabbed a couple bottles of water, and went for a drive in the countryside. It was a little cloudy but we sure enjoyed the beauty of the fall colors. We definitely took roads “less traveled” – even turned onto some dirt roads. I was glad Tim was driving, as he is the one with the good sense of direction. Who knows where we would have ended up if I had been navigating!

          We took the time to stop at a few antique stores to poke around for a bit. I love it – it’s like going on a treasure hunt… you never know what you might find! Although, it is a sad moment when you see toys that you played with as a child and they are labeled an antique. J

          It is interesting to see what people consider valuable that back 60 or 70 years ago was an item used in normal, daily living. It makes me wonder what my children or even someday my grandchildren will deem as valuable.

          I have a couple of precious items that have been given to me – my great grandfather’s barrister’s bookcase, Tim’s great grandmother’s drop-front desk, some teacups and teapots, a few quilts and books. To me these things are priceless. But what I cherish even more is the godly heritage that has been passed down to me. It is more valuable to me than an entire store of antiques!

          And what I desire is for my children and my children’s children to value that heritage more than any single thing I could ever give them, no matter what that might be. That means I have to continue to safeguard it and be careful what I add to it so that the heritage will be of great value 20 or 30 years from now.

          Taking a meander through some antique stores just provided a good reminder to keep at it.

Revisiting Bethany

            Today I went back to revisit Bethany and the incredible lessons I learned about Martha, Mary, and Lazarus over the past couple of years. I needed to be reminded why Jesus, when He heard Lazarus was sick and knew he would die, chose to stay where He was another 2 days.

            I remember when I was doing the study for the first time being so struck by the phrase “Jesus loved… yet He stayed”. I knew if I believed that statement was true in their lives then it would have to be true in mine. My head gets it most of the time but there are times when my heart struggles with the truth of it.

            This week is one of those weeks for me. This week my family and I say goodbye to people we have ministered to and with at Kossuth Street Baptist Church. This would not be what I would have chosen for right now but because I trust in the sovereignty of God, I rest in the surety that it is God’s best for us.

            There are moments I think, “Jesus does loves me… yet He - ” and I get frustrated or sad or a whole number of emotions when I fill in the blank with what I am focused on. But going back to John 11, I am reminded that Jesus said right up front that what was going to happen was for God’s glory. He made that declaration before Lazarus even died. His intent was always to bring His Father glory.

            It is also a wonderful and tender realization that Jesus talked plainly with His disciples when they didn’t get what was going on “…for your sake, I’m glad I was not there – so you may believe.”

            And even though this is many, many years later and a different circumstance, Jesus whispers those same assurances to me:

                        ~ I love you

                        ~ I knew about this situation before the earth was made

                        ~ I care about you and the pain you are experiencing

                        ~ This is for God’s glory

                        ~ And this is so you may believe in Me

            Glad I went back to visit Bethany again. – I needed those reminders!