Had a Good Day

It's amazing how God can take a bad experience, turn it around, and then take all the credit for the resulting joy.

Following my "Bad Day" on Wednesday, I woke up to gray clouds and fatigue. That's when God stepped in. I had coffee with Lissa, our church's Children's Director, and we spent three hours learning from each other, brainstorming ideas, and dreaming about the future. We both left totally excited about an idea that will have a radical impact on the way our church reaches kids and serves visitors. It's going to be a lot of work, and it will take the involvement of just about everyone at Hope, but I think it will be really cool.

Then I got a call that our buyers decided to go ahead with the deal after all. We received a copy of their earnest money check, and the inspection process has begun. So it looks like we've finally sold our home. That means I've got a green light to move ahead more aggressively at finding a home for our family here in Virginia, and that means my thoughts are focused on us being together and the good days ahead. It's a total turnaround from the night before.

A little later, I got together with Steve (our worship leader), Gavin (an awesome guitar player), and Jeff (our sound guy) to work out some bugs in schedules, dream about ways to draw people in and grow this facet of ministry, etc. I was really impressed with these guys; Hope is so blessed!

Finally, the day ended with a terrific time at our Hope Group. Bob shared his heart from Ephesians 5 about the need for all of us to be selfless in our relationships. What a teriffic reminder. We also had a good time of praying together; it's always a good day when we get to hang out with our Heavenly Father together.

I'm reminded of the beautiful promise from Lamentations 3: "The faithful love of the Lord never ends!*His mercies never cease. Great is his faithfulness; his mercies begin afresh each morning." Now that's worth celebrating!

(By the way, as I wrote this and prepared to publish it, Margo called to tell me that our buyers decided to cancel their offer and back out of the deal. So we're back to square one. That's okay — God is still in control, and he's as good as he's ever been. You know what? Maybe it's okay to have a good day despite bad news. Hmmm...)