Greetings from Austin Street

Blessed Sunday to you all.  All is well here at 811. I was writing last night’s journal entry when the power went out in our house.  There is not a great deal of light here on Austin Street when the entire neighborhood goes out. It is amazing what one will do to get back into the light.  My ever resourceful husband found our small wind-up lantern and it fell to the ground. The housing at the bottom of the lantern had broken off.  I am telling you all of that to tell you this…Bruce asked for scissors and he got some tape and prepared to fix the lantern. I held the scissors and another flashlight. Bruce took the tape and then talked himself through each step as he prepared the lantern. There were no interruptions. There was only clear flowing language as he repaired the lantern. When he finished I looked at him and said, “Do you realize that you spoke perfectly throughout the entire process of fixing the lantern.  You did not hunt for words or speak anything that did not make sense. It was perfectly executed language.”  His response was, “I did?” He had no idea what he was saying. He was just talking himself through the repair process. I was amazed.  I also have some questions for the folks at the center about his not realizing what he is saying.  God is good and love wins!

God, I thank you for comforting me during times of sorrow and turning it into a vehicle of joy. I thank you for shedding light on my circumstances in my life I do not understand.  You know how I have always been afraid of the dark Lord. Thank you for providing promise and provision in the sunrise each day. You illumine each situation bringing despair out of the darkness and creating the opportunity for delight. I love you Lord. In Jesus name, Amen.

It got really dark last night. We live in a small neighborhood without street lights. So when we lost power last night it was really dark. Not too often am I grumpy, but when it is that dark I really get uneasy.  I am so glad Bruce was with me.  But I learned something last night. When the lights went out the immediate task was to find some type of light. So the hunt went on for the lantern and flashlights. There would no stopping until we had a light source.  It was not too very long that Bruce had the light repaired and we had a small lantern and a couple of flashlights. But I knew if these light sources were left on for a somewhat lengthy amount of time their energy would eventually go out. The good news was not long after the lantern was repaired the power came back on.

The things about darkness are the house noises you hear in the dark and not in the light. Even the familiar house becomes somewhat confining and treacherous.  The same is true about the unknown in our lives. The unknowns can be places of darkness, fearsome and restrictive.  We long to see the light of understanding to illumine the darkness. Here is the good news.  Even if the power in our house had stayed out all night, the sun was going to come up and shine its light into our windows and once again we would be able to safely and without fear navigate our way.  I have to believe that is how God works in the situations in our lives we do not understand and the prayers that have so far gone unanswered. The energy and light of God’s love is infinite and eternal. God will in His time illumine our situation and we will see God’s insight and provision for our problem or situation. We just have to be willing to wait on the light.

“Weeping may endure for a night, but joy comes in the morning.”

Psalm 30: 5

Take joy in the journey and wait for the light of God to shine His glorious light of love and grace into the midst of our life situations and wait for the joy.  Wear comfortable shoes and get some sleep.  Love you all, Bruce and Gaylene