The Arrival of August

    `With the arrival of August, we realize the summer is moving along rather quickly.  With this month we’re going to become aware of the decreasing hours of daylight.  We’re not sure it will also include waning degrees of heat.  July was pretty warm, by most opinions.  After a dry July, August, in its earliest days, has brought welcome rainfall.   However, it then seemed unable to turn the faucet off as we were treated (?) to a pretty fearsome tropical storm with inches of rainfall.  And so, we await what lies ahead for this new month.
    As long as we remain safe, what lies ahead is one of the things that makes life interesting.  And this is true of life, from many angles.   Mankind likes to spend much time and energy predicting and projecting what lies in the future.  Like the weather forecast, however, we can only, at best, be partially right.  The unpredictability of almost every facet of life should keep us humble, even if we’re still interested in trying to know the unknown.
    Many people, especially as they grow older and wiser, realize how disasters can strike suddenly, leaving them confronted with a situation that is overwhelming… accident, health, financial, family… the list of potential disasters is endless.  If you watch the news or read the daily paper, you realize that there are an amazing number of ways to find yourself in trouble, even pandemics.  It’s that possibility that can cause people to worry and stress.  It also causes insurance companies to thrive.
    What a blessing it is if we can face these problems with a Helper right at our side.  How much lighter the load if Someone will share the burden.   The pain will be assuaged if we can feel the presence of the Comforter.  The end of the tunnel becomes visible when we follow our Guide through whatever the challenge.
    And so we proclaim Jesus Christ.  The Helper, Comforter, and Guide; the Someone who is ready to stay with us through anything.  We’re not likely to get rid of our worries entirely – it’s a part of caring.  But there is much peace available when we are able to accept that our Lord is always present and loves us enough to share our good times and walk beside us when we go through our bad times.                                                                                                                                                                                                          Virginia                                                                     " Praise be to the Lord, to God our Savior,
who daily bears our burdens."     Psalm 68:19