The Pastor's Page
December 2008/January 2009
The End of the Walk
I've been doing my articles for 2008 about my morning walks. It seems only right, with this being December, to talk about the end of my walk. Most people feel good or content or fulfilled or a good tired at the end of the walk. I usually end my walk shouting at my neighbor's dog. Mike has an in ground pool and large privacy fence, behind it lurks his hound Guinness (yes, like the beer). Guinness sneaks up on me just before I turn my last corner and starts to bark and howl, making me want to jump out of my skin. It is especially bad when I don't hear him loping at the fence, and the surprise makes the bark that much more startling. It is a familiar if jarring pattern to my walk. Guinness and I engage in a test most mornings, to see if he can smell me before I can hear him, usually he wins. I've tried petting, bribing, and sweet talk, but the only thing Guinness responds to is a sharp word to sit and be quiet. I would love it if life were only quiet, fulfilling, and soothing, but life is composed of both the soft and the jarring. It is good to remember at the jarring moments in life to:

Walk with God and remember God leads us through our dark valleys.
Bring our tiredness and sorrows to the Lord, for God always hears.
Do our work quietly and humbly.
Let our emptiness be filled with times of prayer.
Perform acts of kindness in the midst of turmoil.
Keep our hearts centered on forgiving others.
Lay our problems upon God's shoulders.
Give thanks for our blessings and freedom to worship.
Value God's approval above all.

Have a Wonderful and Faith Filling December,

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