I hope that you will enjoy these book commercials. Our class worked very hard to get them completed before I had to leave for the states. To my students, I am so sorry that I have delayed in posting these.
Ramona Quimby Age 8
Socks
Pippi Goes on Board
I pray that you will in some way be blessed by this week’s message:
“If the Lord wills” James 4: 13-15
Detours – usually they represent a minor or sometimes a major change in plans. We typically look upon them as a negative action to OUR already well laid out plans. Sometimes a detour is a minor inconvenience on our journey. Sometimes a detour in life shakes us to our core and provides reasons to reflect upon and reconsider current goals and their real value.
Recently we returned to the states from Portugal where we flew into Denver and then rode with our son for a 5-hour car trip to his home in northeastern New Mexico. During time there we had the privilege of celebrating our 7-year old grandson’s birthday, spending time with family, and getting over jetlag. From there we drove to the state capital of Santa Fe to visit friends whom we had met a few years earlier in Lisbon. The next phase of the trip became tricky because of snowstorms. We needed to drive from Santa Fe, New Mexico to Salem, Oregon to visit my husband’s 98-year old mother. With good weather and long days, it would take two days to make the 1440 mile drive. No matter what direction we selected to go, we had to cross the Rocky Mountains in the winter. We knew that we would encounter deep snow if we went straight north to Denver. Instead, we ventured a bit south so that we could take some diagonal roads across New Mexico and then again later in Utah. We hadn’t been on the road more than 2 hours and we hit our first of 5 snowstorms that we had to drive through on our first day out. I had a choice to make. I could either be white knuckled and a Nervous Nelly, which would not be helpful to my husband who was driving, or I could sit in quiet and pray while beholding God’s power and beauty in creation. I could claim peace and safety as in Psalm 119:164-165 I praise you seven times a day for your righteous judgments. Abundant peace belongs to those who love your instruction; nothing makes them stumble. Don’t get me wrong, there were times I struggled with anxiousness, in particular as we drove with heavy snow in the dark through the last mountain pass before coming to our destination for the night. Needless to say, we were so thankful to finally make it safely to the hotel that night.
The next day we did not encounter any storms, but what we did experience was the beauty of the aftermath of the weather that had preceded us. The remainder of our trip to Oregon showcased the beauty of the landscape as mountains and forests were covered in deep, glittering, shimmering snow. The trees were laden in white, beautiful, deep, radiant, undisturbed snow. The beauty was spellbinding. I wished that I had my snowshoes in the car and that we could stop and walk into the deep snow-covered forests. The beauty was indescribable. The entire 700 miles that day was postcard or calendar beautiful!
After a week with Mom, Chuck’s sister, and our brother-in-law, we again said goodbyes and prepared for the next leg of the trip heading home to Wisconsin. We knew that our trip was about 2100 miles and that we would need to travel approximately 700 miles for each of 3 days. Day 1 we hit snow and ice not 2 hours into the trip along the beautiful, but winter hazardous Columbia Gorge in Oregon. After a very slow trip through the gorge we finally drove out and up into the mountains where we were able to move at a fairly good pace. Fairly late that evening, with 770 miles behind us we pulled into our hotel, much later than what we had originally planned. To our dismay, upon arrival we learned that Interstate 80 going east was closed. This was the most direct route home. We went to bed hoping for better information in the morning and thanking God for another day of His Almighty protection. Psalm 91:1
Upon waking, news reports confirmed that interstate 80 was still closed – all the way across Wyoming, and forecasts projected that it would be closed for at least the next 12 hours. We were in the Rocky Mountains and there was no other route across. A birthday party for my husband with our girls and their families was in front of us, a snowstorm on our heels was not far behind. It was either sit and wait for the road to open and risk being snowed in or get in the car and continue driving south to take a route that would be several hundred miles south of the route we had planned. In total it would be 500 miles of detour. Feeling that there was no real choice for us, with a snowstorm following our path, we took off for day 2 of what had now become an increasingly hazardous journey home. Again, we praised God, our protector, Jehovah Jireh, our provider. When we pulled into the hotel late that night. We had covered 930 miles, however, we still had 900 to go and the snowstorm was still following us.
By day 3 on the road I was saddle sore and wanted no more of sitting! However, like a silent foreboding menace, we knew that the snowstorm from the west was coming. We desperately wanted to make it home to Wisconsin before the storm hit with a projected 6-8 inches of snow. More driving, more time to think, more time to pray, more time to call out to Jehovah Shalom, Lord of Peace.
I am thankful to announce that we did make it home that evening. We unpacked our car of all of our luggage from our 5 months in Portugal and walked into our warm home that we had left the end of August. My how things looked different. The ground outside was covered with a foot of snow, and another 6 inches fell silently as we slept that night. All together our detour was 500 miles, turning our 2,100 mile trip into a 2,600 mile winter driving journey.
Why do I share the details of our adventure? Because all of these hours in the car (and there were many!) left plenty of time for daily devotionals, singing along to praise and worship music, and prayer. Knowing we were on a very long detour, the Lord granted me time to spend with Him and time to pray for family and friends. During this time, the following verses came to mind over and over. God reminded me that my plan, our plans, weren’t necessarily His.
James 4:13-15. Come now, you who say, “Today or tomorrow we will travel to such and such a city and spend a year there and do business and make a profit.” 14. Yet you do not know what tomorrow will bring- what your life will be! For you are like vapor that appears for a little while, then vanishes. 15 Instead, you should say, “If the Lord wills, we will live and do this or that.”
While we wanted to go home the straightest route, we wanted to be home for Chuck’s birthday, I had to admit to myself that just maybe what I planned, what I wanted, might not be the plan the Lord had for us. As it turned out, we made it home for a birthday celebration with our daughters and their families, but for some unknown reason, the Lord gave us a very long detour to contemplate our ministry, to pray, and to praise and glorify Him.
Dear Lord,
Forgive me when my first reaction to detours in my life is that of frustration and inconvenience. Help me to appreciate what I do experience. Help me to take the time to see the beauty that you have surrounded me with, to appreciate those who are with me, or the extra alone time that you have granted me. Help me to find you in the midst of this detour. Help me to count it as a blessing instead of an inconvenience. Help me to remember that it is you who has the Master Plan, and that I am given the privilege of following. Help me to remember that my plans are not concrete, but always “If the Lord Wills.”
May God use you to be a blessing to someone today.
Linda