Here Comes the Rain Again

This week has marked the return of one of North Cross' annual summer traditions, a tradition many of you may not know about since it occurs only during the week.  It is a tradition that we observe from time to time throughout the year, but during the summer months it becomes a pretty regular part of the routine of life around here.

You see, when the rainy season comes, our Mother's Day Out program has to move their outdoor time into the area we use as a worship space on Sunday morning, a space that just happens to be, for now, on the other side of the rather thin western wall of my office.

Get a mental picture in your head about what a small army of children running around playing and hanging out in a bounce house looks and sounds like.

Yes, what you've come up with is probably pretty accurate.

Admittedly, when I came in Monday morning and saw that it would be like this most of the week due to weather, I was, to put it mildly, less than amused, for I had been looking forward to this week to 'hole up' in my office and do some long-range thinking and planning, and was longing for some peace and quiet in which to do some of this thinking.  As much as I love being with you all, and being the kind of pastor who is accessible when around the office, I do cherish times where I can sit back and do some work in solitude.

Honestly, I was tempted to run to Best Buy and get a set of high-quality noise-reducing headphones to block out all the exterior sounds.

However, upon further reflection, the following truths came to light:

1. Isn't it great to have a fantastic Mother's Day Out program that has at it's core a desire to lead children to a life of faith in God through the grace of Christ?

2. Isn't it great to have what was initially built as, and will, by God's grace be returned to, a multi-purpose activity building being used more than just one day a week to carry out the work of God?

3. Isn't it true that we cannot, as much as we would prefer, live life in a vacuum?  We live in a world of distractions.  I hear from more than a few people that with all that is going on in life, it's hard to make time to spend with God.

4. Isn't life a lot more easy to handle when, instead of looking for what we want and making sure things are set up just as we think it should be, we look for how God is present even in situations where we feel we are highly distracted?

As we prepare to go into our fall season here, each of these are important points for us to remember.  We must be people who:

1. Celebrate what God has given us.

2. Celebrate that God is using that which we have been given.

3. Celebrate that God is present, and seek to find the Divine wherever we are.

4. Celebrate that life, all of life, isn't about what we want, but about what God is doing in our midst, and that most of the time we simply need to get over ourselves?

So, let the children play.  Let the distractions come.  For God's grace and love is a lot greater than the worldly distractions we often use as an excuse.

See You Sunday!

Lamar