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Back to Reality – Tomorrow…

By August 30, 2012August 30th, 2022Devotional

Today, I’ve had three requests for meetings this week-end and a call from a Muslim fellow who wanted me to perform his wedding ceremony in October, without any mention of faith or God. Needless to say, I declined…

That’s how today started out. I always get a little anxious when our time here at the Greenbrier is coming to an end. But I always seem to get a rash of calls when I am away from the office for a few days and this trip was no exception. It must be time to get back to Indiana. However, it’s been a wonderful few days away. We had a chance to visit Williamsburg and see Janet’s family as well as being able to celebrate our 39th anniversary – how time flies.

And what can I say about our time here? Terrific, as usual. It really is our favorite resort anywhere and neither one of us is ready to get in the car Friday morning and drive 8 hours back to Carmel. I keep telling Janet that we should consider a summer home here, but after visiting Lewisburg yesterday, 8 miles away, it would take about a week before I went nuts with nothing to do. As tough as it is for me to admit, I do better living in Indiana and visiting here several times each year. And we never get tired of it doing it that way.

After responding to the necessary phone calls this morning, we went for a walk around the property and ended up sitting down by the Old White Course, site of the 2012 Greenbrier Classic held last July. The scenery was breathtaking. There are several more hundred people here than there were earlier in the week, so the three golf courses were starting to get busy for the Labor Day week-end. Another thing – the weather has been wonderful the whole time we have been here. In other words, we couldn’t have asked for anything more.

Now, our attention turns to things back in Carmel. The window washer guy is scheduled for Friday, and our friend Pat will take care of that for us. Then, Pat will pick up Lexie and have her back at the house for our arrival late in the day. I already have an appointment for Saturday morning and Janet will head to the grocery store. Oh, yes – I will fill the bird feeders and wind the clocks, spray the weeds in the lawn and get the road grime off Janet’s car at the local wash.

Knowing the way things happen when we are out of town, I will probably have to head to the post office to pick up a week’s worth of mail and all the beginning of the month bills will have to be paid. I will also create monthly invoices for my clients and  prepare for the huge number of meetings already scheduled for next week. Just thinking about all this is getting overwhelming – I may need another vacation…

But you know what? In the midst of all the packing, and the Republican National Convention in the background, even now there are still surprises here at the Greenbrier. Because it just starting getting loud outdoors – like gunfire. But no – fireworks. I just called down to the desk and the lady told me that one of the groups onsite decided to have a fireworks display for the patrons of the hotel and so, voila, fireworks. And I don’t just mean one or two – this display has already gone on more than 20 minutes and it isn’t over yet. Kind of like when you attend a really grand 4th of July celebration – it’s that good… Hard to believe this could happen in the midst of the forests and mountains of West Virginia.

And you know, that’s how God works as well. Just when you think that it’s over, God sends you a little surprise. Maybe if you’re a little alone, God sends you a friend. If you’re in the dark, God sends a little light. And if you are in the midst of sadness, God can send a little joy. But one thing is for sure – God always wants His people to experience the joy of a relationship with Him.

The verse for tonight comes from the book of Esther, a book of the Bible that never even mentions God by name. But it is about the deliverance of God’s people from the hand of Haman, an evil official who had tricked Xerxes, the king, into issuing a decree allowing for the annihilation of the Jews. Esther, a Jewish girl who became Queen, is the agent through which God worked and with the aid of Mordecai, was able to effectively save the Jewish nation.

The celebrations held as a result of that story are still told annually in the Jewish calendar. From Esther 9:20-22 we are told, “Mordecai recorded these events, and he sent letters to all the Jews throughout the provinces of King Xerxes, near and far, to have them celebrate… the month when their sorrow was turned into joy and their mourning into a day of celebration. He wrote them to observe the days as days of feasting and joy and giving presents of food to one another and gifts to the poor.”

My encouragement this evening is to remind you that there is always cause to celebrate. Even as we sit here, packing to go home, Janet and I celebrate the wonderful time we have once again had together. And we even did it with fireworks. My prayer is that when you need a little uplifting, God will send you a surprise. When you are alone, that God will send you a friend, and remember, when you needed a Savior, God sent His Son for you…

Have a great day in the Lord, grace and peace…

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