Good Morning and a Blessed Sunday to all! I greet you from Tybee - TopicsExpress

Good Morning and a Blessed Sunday to all! I greet you from Tybee Island, Georgia, where I have just spent a long weekend with some deeply treasured friends from my years at Texas A&M. Gracious, what a wonderful group of women. All beautiful, kind, smart, accomplished, Godly women. And hilarious yall. Heeeelarious. I may just be the least funny person here. Anyway, I am so grateful for this precious time with each of them. Thanks be to God indeed! The not-so-wonderful part was my journey getting here. It was planes, trains, and automobiles all over again, and ultimately ended up being a 17-hour journey. (Side note: It was a mistake on my part that threw everything off, but it did not involve my being late). I wouldnt quite characterize it as an everything that could go wrong did go wrong kind of day, and I wont go into all the specifics here because they are really kind of boring. But suffice to say that it was a very, very long day. It seemed interminable. There were unexpected obstacles all along the way. There were detours and changes and curve balls. There was chaos when I wanted peace, confusion when I wanted clarity, exhaustion when I wanted rest. And waiting. So much doggone waiting. Of course, peppered throughout the day were blessings of all kinds: helpful people, fun conversations, unexpected kindnesses, laughter that surprised. And of course, what kept me going was what I knew what awaited me! At the end of this long, hard day, I knew that I would be welcomed into the warm embrace of people who love me so well and so completely, that my travel misfortunes would all soon become a distant, faded memory. And I was right. That is exactly what happened. Life is this way sometimes, isnt it? Long roads, uncharted waters, unforeseen circumstances. Mistakes, mishaps, disappointments. Exhaustion, weariness, uncertainty. But through it all, God walks with us. He is protector. He is provider. He is peace. And He promises that the glory that we will one day experience will far exceed what we are currently enduring. Hear these words from 2 Corinthians 4:17: For our light and momentary troubles are achieving for us an eternal glory that far outweighs them all. (NIV) Man I believe that. Indeed, I cleave to that Truth. I love these lyrics from the song Mountain of God by Third Day: Even though the journeys hard And I know the road is long Well the One who goes before me He will help me carry on And after all that Ive been through Now I realize the Truth That I must go through the valley To stand upon the mountain of God. Whatever you are going through my friends, please be encouraged. Just keep on walkin round that bend. Untold glory, prevailing peace, and the loving embrace of God await you.