Two weeks have passed...

Exactly two weeks have passed since I discovered I was no longer going to be working at the church we have loved (and still love) and cared for over the past two years. Since that moment, our world changed again forever and there was no undoing what was done. Something precious, something of great value to us, will soon be gone.

I don't intend to dish or dig or argue or admonish here. The words spoken here are to help us to move forward and heal and grow and express. I feel as though this act was displayed before so many people and angels and the very God of heaven and we have no need of further witnesses. I do not wish to drag the name of Christ through the mud because He has been more than sufficient for us. His grace is enough. He has answered so many prayers even before we have prayed them. The number of people praying for us and the love and support we have received from those who know and love Jesus makes us richer than anyone I know. Bill Gates' bank account pales in comparison.

God has given me three pictures, three illustrations or demonstrations that He can and will take care of us beyond even our physical needs. The first one is the sparrow. I think He's really pushing this one on us, because in a two-week period I've heard two sermons that emphasize the fact that when we honour Him, He is faithful to care for us: food for each day, clothes for the moment, shelter from the storms, and these things He has blessed us with in abundance above and beyond our needs or wants. And not that we deserve it any more than any other of God's creatures because of anything we have done - it is simply because of his goodness to us all. I trust Him because He is faithful.

He proves Himself daily. The bank hasn't called us. We own a house worth twice what we paid for it. We have hand-me-downs coming out of our ears so much so that we can bless others with them. We have food on the table. We have friends that care. We have an immediate family that is beautiful and built by God alone and an extended family that doesn't know how to stop giving. We have a vehicle that serves our family and we can still fill the tank at $1.129/L (sorry for those of you who pay more - praise God all the more!). We know the God of the universe, the God of creation, the God of 5 loaves and 2 fish who distributed enough to a crowd large enough to pack the Saddledome and had 12 baskets left over. Tell me that isn't a miracle or that isn't lavish riches and an abundance beyond your imagination. I see the proof daily and I worship Him for that.

The second picture is a woman who was about to have her sons taken as slaves to pay her debts the very next day. She asked God and His servant Elisha for help. The oil never stopped flowing from her little vial until every jug and jar in town had been filled to pay off that debt. And there was enough left for the widow and her sons to live off of. I didn't choose the picture, it was given to me in Micah's Bible in our nighttime reading the day after we found out. God knows what we need to hear when we need to hear it.

The third picture came two days later when I was struggling in my prayers.

"The LORD is my shepherd, I shall not want. He makes me lie down in green pastures; He leads me beside quiet waters. He restores my soul; He guides me in paths of righteousness for His name's sake. Even though I walk through the valley of deep darkness, I fear no harm, for You are with me; Your rod and Your staff, they comfort me. You prepare a table before me in the presence of my enemies; You have anointed my head with oil; my cup overflows. Surely goodness and lovingkindness will follow me all the days of my life, and I will dwell in the house of the LORD forever."

I cling to His words. I believe in His character. I trust in His faithfulness. So many other words of scripture have been a help and an anchor in this time. I have a foundation like no other. The God who is The Rock. He is my encouragement, my stay. And we are resting in Him this moment. In His time we will decide what to do and where to go and how and when. But until then, help us rest, Lord...

- Mark