Sunday Afternoon Tea - Our Place in God's Story

I was looking out the kitchen window one morning last week, it happened to be the first sunrise of September, gazing at the scene which surprises me every year at this time.  For it is in this stage of Summer, just before it slips into Autumn, that one can stand at the sink and peer out at the illusion of living at the base of one of the Smoky Mountains.

It has something to do with my house sitting on a small hill, the tall trees in the distance being at their fullest, and the foggy mist we often have early mornings this time of year.  I have to remind myself that there are not even the smallest of mountains in my part of the state... some large hills, yes... mountains, not so much.

In a way, this other worldly illusion is a gift each year for I love the Smoky Mountains.  I love their beauty and their history and their traditions.  I love the music that came with immigrants from Scotland and Ireland to the mountains.  In the beginning of my marriage, I thought I would spend my life in or around the Smokies.

My fiance was working on a graduate degree in Furniture Engineering, which is a field where Civil Engineering meets Wood Technology.  So, of course, he would find work in the furniture making capital of the country... North Carolina.  We decided to spend the first part of our honeymoon in Asheville before driving through the mountains, at least most of the way, on the Blue Ridge Parkway to the eastern part of Virginia.  Beautiful country!

However, our desire for where we wanted to live was not God's plan for us and we ended up in Michigan.  Western Michigan.  Where it snows and snows and snows.  God must have smiled when I first longed for a life in a southern state. 

Michigan turned out to be good for us and I came to love the beauty of the Western Michigan coastline.  It was an excellent location for my daughter to spend her childhood.  I loved the area most of the year but once Christmas was past, it was a long wait for warmer weather and flowers.

Now I look back and wonder at the passage of time and how God has woven our story into His Story.  When I was quite young, I would become very frustrated when things did not go as I had planned.  I honestly thought that God wasn't listening to me as I made lists of goals to accomplish and the time periods in which they would be fulfilled.

Of course, now I am a little more mature and I have more knowledge of His Word and I am ever more in awe of Him than I was at age twenty when I spent my honeymoon in Asheville... longing for a lifetime of viewing the Smokies.  How like God that at this stage of my life, he gives me a house that has the illusion of those mountains through my kitchen window.

I'm fairly certain the subject of man's ability to choose his ways combined with God's sovereign will has been a subject of perplexity since... Eden?   How my desires and goals get incorporated into His Story is known only by the Master Weaver but I can look back on the decades and see the work of His hands... and trust Him with my future.

We all must admit that 2020 has been a shock to the system and the longer we see challenges, the more they wear on us.  I am certain that none of us at the beginning of the lock down saw it continuing to the extent it has in September.  Much less did we expect anarchy in the streets continuing for any length of time.  There is a reason we feel something is "off".

Once again, God has been reminding me that I am... we are... living in His Story.  We are to pray for our leaders, our country, our friends and family, etc... but that the weight of the world is not on our shoulders.  We do what is in our hands to accomplish... pray, take care of each other, share His love and His Word, vote for candidates who mostly share our values about freedom and the sanctity of life... and the rest is done by Him.

I must not be looking so far into the possible scenarios of some future event that I am not enjoying what part of His Story I am living today.  How can the world be completely a bad place when we can still get a hot pumpkin spice caffeinated beverage on a cool day?  I mean... really?  As I write, my son and daughter-in-law are in town and are bringing with them my first pumpkin spice latte of the season.

I think I hear the angels singing...

God is quite practical, we see that in the precision of His creation.  So, I should not be surprised that while I have been praying for instruction, I have been led to bring the two boxes of Fall decorations out of the garage.  To fully embrace my favorite time of the year... Fall, Thanksgiving, and Christmas.

We need the continuation of our seasonal traditions and decorating and food and anything else we can still do to keep some form of normalcy in this crazy year of 2020.  Especially if we have children still living at home or in our daily life.

This is our opportunity to instill within them faith and not fear in uncertain times and yes, something as small as cooking pancakes every Saturday morning or watching a family friendly movie and eating popcorn each Friday night can do that!  I have seen the importance of such consistency in my own child raising years.

He has been reminding me to light candles now that the darkness is settling in sooner each night.  While I love the flicker of real candles, I have a few battery operated primitive style candles that look very real and are kitty friendly for side tables and the coffee table.  It doesn't matter if I am the only person in the house that loves the flicker of candle light... the other person in the house reminds me we have electricity.

Choices are important in these days where so much seems to be out of our control.  Choices when purchasing food to make a favorite soup or salad or pie. The choice to take a little extra time while running errands to purchase charcoal burgers and onion rings at our favorite drive-in.  A tradition that will end soon as they will be closing in a few weeks for the season.

The choice to read instead of scrolling Facebook or to listen to the new Shane & Shane Vintage album downloaded at my daughter's recommendation.  It is becoming clearer that much of how I am feeling has a lot to do with my own choices at what to give my time and attention to each day.

It won't be long, my friends.  Even if it is years away, it isn't long in light of Eternity.  God's Story is unfolding and His Word promises us that He is preparing for us something so wonderful that we cannot imagine it in these earthly bodies. 

Image: From ashevilletrails.com