It started out as a good day. I was able to work in my garden, and it made me feel good; I was at peace. For some, pulling weeds and making a path to walk on may not seem like a good day, but I was feeling good like I did in my thirties. All around me I had the flowers God brought up this year; it was his crop, his yield and I was blessed by it. As I was putting the last of those weeds into the wagon, one poked me in the eye. It was still a good day. I was still filled with peace and joy, and grateful for all God blessed me with.

The day tried to go sour when I was attacked by a dog and bitten in the hand and face. I was disappointed that I needed stitches, but I did not hold anything against the dog or its owners. It was an unfortunate event that I so cluelessly stumbled into. It threatened to make it the end of a very good day. How surprised I was that my peace was still present. Things go wrong, and at times we suffer, but I still did not experience all that Jesus has done for me on the cross; those things he so willingly bore for me.

What peace I have in just knowing that I am a child of God, that God loves me, that God is for me, and nothing can take that away from me because I am secure in God’s hands. Some may argue here that God is Spirit and does not have physical hands, but Jesus was definitely human and he had hands. I also have the secure feeling of those hands, whether I see them now in my plane of existence. I am confident that they are still there. I am still learning what it means to share in God’s glory and in his suffering, but I am loving the journey whether it goes smoothly for me or not.

I rejoice at the response one gives when they come to Christ. I rejoice when I hear of God’s healings. I also suffer when I hear of the pain and sorrow of those who reject the Lord’s tender love for the ways of this world. My job is to live this life God gave me to the best of my ability and to lean on God for the strength that I do not have. My job is to share the love of Jesus with the world, but I must not forget that the increase, and the means, comes through God’s grace and mercy. Sometimes what I say is misunderstood and sometimes others rejoice with me in the goodness of God. I am a partaker in what God is doing, and I am grateful that God allows me to do my part.

May I share verse 18 of this chapter with you: ‘Yet what we suffer now is nothing compared to the glory he will reveal to us later.’ Suffering is in the very back of the line. It can hold nothing on us and is meagre compared to the glory God has for us. How is it that God loves us so very much? Oh, I am excited for the future, and I am excited about the ‘now’ of everything. We are so very blessed that we cannot hold all the gifts of God in our hands. It is still a very, very good day.

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