Bursting in Air

Yesterday evening, following a violent storm, we were able to once again watch the "largest fireworks show in Kentucky" as we try to do every year. I'm not one for crowds, so banding together with tens of thousands of my fellow-man is not my idea of a good time; but watching my four-year-old son's wonder at the colorful airborne explosions was worth the hassle. Already in a somewhat foul mood at the number of people who believe holidays mean church is optional, I was glad to get home after the show.

Needless to say it's been an interesting couple of weeks, mentally, physically and emotionally. After a new round of biopsies, my grandfather's condition was classified as "benign," however the results were sent to the Mayo Clinic for additional study. As the doctor stated just a couple of hours ago, "I have no idea what we're dealing with, and we've got to find out." So we've gone up and down there. On other fronts, there have been people who have given their heart to the Lord, others who have been hospitalized, baby dedications and baptisms.

Throughout it all, though, there has seldom been a time in my life in which I can recall the presence of the Lord so fully. Perhaps when life is pulling and throwing you in all different directions, it is more easy to recognize the peaceful foundation, the solid rock of Christ. Much like the fireworks show (which was nearly an hour later than advertised, another fact which fouled my mood considerably), when you're waiting or going through something it has a tendency to take forever, with no end in sight (much like, perhaps, some of my sermons). But once it's all over, it seems like there wasn't much wait at all.

With the wait over, it is sometimes as though the "weight" is over as well. What a comfort to know that if we can just hang on a little while longer, we'll be well-paid for what we had to go through. In my own experience over the last couple of weeks, the waiting was just one more means for the Lord to show Himself to me. You see, you don't always have to get to the end, the result, in order to find God. More often than not, you can find Jesus in the journey just as much, if not more so, as in the destination. Remember that as you go through life's trials. Jesus isn't waiting for you at the end, but is walking with you the whole way.

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