Interruptions to Our Agendas
Jan 31
Honestly, I think we have had enough snow thus far this winter, wouldn’t you agree? Two large snowstorms have caused interruptions to our agendas due to added snow shovelling. Thankfully, our neighbour has shown his kindness to us with his snowplow; although, I don’t feel sorry for him as he loves cleaning out the street end of our driveway along with helping out other neighbours. We also had to replace our furnace unexpectedly a week ago on one of the coldest days of the year because it was cracked inside. We were very grateful it happened all in one day. Surprisingly, we did have a nice interruption to our dinner last night when we spotted two deer at the back of our yard sauntering through the deep snow to munch on the lower branches of our cedar trees.
Scott and Chrissy Lockhart travel to Sarnia three weekends out of four to bring Scott’s two young daughters back to Milton. A couple of weeks ago they were stranded on the highway 20 km outside of London when all of a sudden their car quit. They did find a kind tow-truck driver to haul them to London for repairs and were able to rent another vehicle to get them back home. Now, that was a stressful, expensive interruption. Please continue to pray for the growth of Hillside Church this year.
Thomas, his family and orphans whom we support in Myanmar have been doing really well for quite a while with their lives. They are able to bring in income through selling vegetables and flowers at the market from the farm we were able to purchase for them this past year. Also, the orphans are succeeding very well at school. Recently, however, the local government informed them that Thomas’ orphanage license is no longer valid. It has to be upgraded to better standards which means he is owing much more money – a very upsetting interruption. Our church through our charity has sent him some money but he is still looking at a bill of about $7000 CDN which is about 5-6 times their annual wage. Could you please pray about how this emergency funding can be solved? Check out Gary’s latest video on this family – https://youtu.be/JcQXJOwlS4s.
We can learn so much from Jesus’ example in the New Testament as to how he handled unexpected interruptions. In Luke 8: 42-48 Jesus is on his way to restore a dying girl when he felt someone touch the edge of his garment. He didn’t ignore the situation but turned around and took the time to ask who had touched him. A woman confessed that she had because she believed he could help her with her problem of bleeding that had lasted for twelve years. He didn’t shun her but graciously responded, “Daughter, your faith has healed you. Go in peace.”
It is always hard to react well when interruptions attack our agendas. May God supply extra wisdom and clarity of mind without a lot of discouragement to solve the problem that has risen unexpectedly before us.
Early Happy Valentine’s Day!
Wendy