Bumping Along

The picture on the right is of the rear wheel of my daughter's scooter. What I tried to show in the picture are the flat spots on the wheel.  Kat races down the sidewalk and then jams on the brake, sliding on the concrete.  This, of course, makes the wheel a little less round, so that instead of going in smooth circles you can hear it clunk every once and while if she is riding slowly.

That clunking wheel is how my morning felt today.  The very first parts of the morning were normal for a Sunday, but once I made my first trip next door to get things ready for church things began to get out of sync.  Without getting into the details there were numerous times in getting ready for our breakfast potluck, setting up for worship, and worship itself, where, from my point-of-view, things were just a little off.  Like the wheel on the scooter, the morning was moving along but with an occasional bump to remind me that some things just weren't quite as smooth as I would prefer.

And still…God was at work.  Not that He takes the morning off just because this or that thing that I'm up to isn't working out.  As Psalm 121:3-4 says,

"He will not let your foot be moved;
    he who keeps you will not slumber.

 Behold, he who keeps Israel
    will neither slumber nor sleep."

Those are true and reliable words, and good ones to remember at many points in life. 

The working of God became evident to me even as worship was going on, when I closed an extemporaneous prayer, one that I wasn't really sure had been very clear, and I heard a soft "Amen" from one of the people I was praying with.  My awkward words were used by God to touch that person. 

There was more evidence in the short, quiet conversations I had with several people after worship.  And there was still more evidence as I gathered the prayer requests.  God had been at work, through me, even though I thought the morning was moving along in a raggedy sort of way. 

I would have preferred a morning where things roll along smoothly but I am glad for the gentle reminders this morning that I am but a servant of God, and the results are in His hands.

Scripture quotations are from The Holy Bible, English Standard Version® (ESV®), copyright © 2001 by Crossway, a publishing ministry of Good News Publishers. Used by permission. All rights reserved.