The break is over. I am going to start blogging again. If you are wondering where the blog has been, whether you read via email or check the webpage, there is a reason I took over two months off from writing. Yes, I realize it was unannounced, and many bloggers take months off but have the foresight and care to announce beforehand. It was an unannounced two months because I kept thinking “next week I will write something.” But I could not muster the motivation, even though I had thoughts to share. Here is why…
Within a short period of time we learned that Kaye has been diagnosed with chronic pancreatitis and my father with Alzheimer’s disease. Kaye has had a few procedures to learn more, and we know for certain something has caused damage to her pancreas. In a few weeks we are flying to San Francisco to meet with a renowned specialist at Stanford, and it is a really cool story about how the appointment got set. It involves a praying woman in our church who could not sleep, researched pancreatitis throughout the night, found a top specialist, and realized she knows his sister whose name is Esther (yes, that is her name) and made the connection. My father is exercising, taking medicine to slow the progression, and doing all the doctor suggests. I appreciate the prayers very much. Our church has been amazing, so encouraging and so supportive.
I just did not feel like writing. By God’s providence and grace, I was studying the book of Esther for a teaching series during much of the last several months. God used the book of Esther to sustain me, to remind me that He is always working behind the scenes for His people. Sometimes God works in the extraordinary and sometimes God works in the ordinary, but He is always caring for His own. In the book of Esther, we learn of the beginnings of an annual Jewish celebration called Purim. It is different from the Jewish celebration of Passover where God’s people would remember they were rescued from their enemies in Egypt through the visible and awe-inspiring hand of God. Plagues, seas parted, amazing works. Purim is where God’s people were rescued from their enemies through seemingly ordinary events – events all guided by the silent yet sovereign hand of God.
We typically prefer the extraordinary, the parted sea and the big and visible miracles God performs. He still performs miracles and I often want the extraordinary – the Passover. But God works in the ordinary too. He is the God of Passover and the God of Purim. I am praying for Passover for my family, but I know He works in Purim too. And I know He loves my wife and my father more than I do.
I just finished a four-week study break to map out teaching for our church in 2022, and I also mapped out some writing for the blog. I plan to be at it again…
