…giving thanks to God the Father at all times and for everything in the name of our Lord Jesus. Ephesians 5:20 (NRSV) We find it so easy to thank God for the flowers, the springtime, the gentle winds, and the good health we enjoy. Very few of us, however, find ourselves thanking God, also, for the storms, the wintertime, the nighttime, and the sickroom experiences along the way. Yet, these latter experiences are likely to have wrapped up within themselves life’s richest blessings. In thanking God for “all things,” have you thought to thank Him, too, for the hard things of life? Fanny Crosby’s greatest blessing came through blindness; John Bunyan’s greatest contribution was made possible by imprisonment; Beethoven’s most sublime compositions were impelled by deafness. The world’s greatest gift, salvation, would never have come except for Gethsemane, Golgotha, and the open grave. Let us search for the hidden blessing of every such experience. Holy One, help me accept life’s storms as rich blessings. Amen. Cliff
CHURCH NEWS: Thanksgiving Dinner at 2pm, Ratcliff Hall. Sign up now! Advent Vesper Worship each Wednesday, begins on December 5 at 6:30pm, sanctuary. Look for “The Giving Tree” beginning soon in the narthex to help a needy child/family