Wednesday, July 29, 2020
Wood
for
Winter
Survival
Job 1:21
He said, ‘Naked I came from my mother’s womb, and naked shall I return there; the Lord gave, and the Lord has taken away; blessed be the name of the Lord.’
1 Timothy 6:7-8
For we brought nothing into the world, so that we can take nothing out of it; but if we have food and clothing, we will be content with these.
Words of Grace For Today
One cannot be sure to leave anything of material worth to one’s children, but give them an education and no one can take that away from them.
Or so one thinks.
And similarly people strive to achieve – for themselves and their children … and their friends and their own – something that will be a legacy.
Legacies are remarkable … usually in how inconsequential they are.
Two things seem significant: The first one is that we recognize that we are born with nothing, we die with nothing, and nothing we can do will ever change that, for us or for anyone else.
The second one is that everything we have is a gift from God for which we can give God thanks and praise. Even the drive to work hard to accomplish and accumulate something that may be a security for us … that drive is God’s gift, and the result may or may not provide security.
We should not therefore cease to work to provide security for ourselves and our own, and our neighbours. ‘Winter’ is coming, and ‘wood‘ needs be collected to ‘keep the fires going’.
We can therefore remember to enjoy each person along the journey, and to provide as we can for those less fortunate than us … as God has provided for us, freely and graciously.
No matter the challenges, disappointments, and ever-present stinking ‘rot’ in situations and people, we are not driven to despair.
We give God thanks in all things. We wake rested, we work like dervishes noticing all of life around us, and we end the day with gratitude and contentment, for we have done as we could to respond to God’s gift of breath in this day.