As many of you know, we had a party for my wife’s birthday and it turned out pretty well. One person said “The Best Party Ever!”, but she may have been biased. As I sat here trying to knock things off the to do list, I saw my birthday this year falls in this first two weeks of social distancing, and therefore no party to make up for skipping the big one two years ago. I guess I could have a party for the other five people who might show up, but I’ll do my part and forego.
My real plan for my birthday was to go to the Astros and get a American League Champions Ring, but alas that is delayed as well. The best thing about Houston sports these days is all the damage the Texans are inflicting on their fan base distracts from the Astros issues. But the overriding topic of the day is not me or sports, but something so much better: Faith in Crisis.
So don’t get me wrong, I am not in any crisis, but the world around me sure shows signs of it. March 12th by itself was a life altering event with the stock market plummeting more on one day than ever before. Of course, Monday came along and said “Hold my beer.”, but very few will remember the specificity of March 12 and the stock market with everything else that has been going on. I for one will remember it for the time I spent praying to God to make sure my lack of panic was real and not a symptom of other issues. By the end of the day, I was sure God was leading me in the smallest of decisions and it was ok to place my faith in Him.
Step one in this day was how to fulfill my duty to my mentoring group. I had recently accepted the role of group leader and wanted to be present at all of our meetings. However, I had also just returned from overseas, we have a group member who could be characterized as at risk for the virus, and I really did not want to show up, be a carrier and not know it, and have him fall ill. My wife was the smart one who said just do it on the phone and the next second (yes, second) one of the group members texted to just meet on the phone. So I knew I had chosen the right thing in skipping. Especially when the other three met and I just dialed in. When the one group member thanked me for my consideration, I was full of joy.
Step two that day was wondering if I had missed a call from God on what to do with some of His resources. As my accountability group could tell you (if they weren’t sworn to secrecy) I occasionally end up with a feeling I need to change up my mix of stocks, bonds, and such. I think three times the last year I have been overwhelmed by a need to see and understand. The first two times I made some tweaks. The last time, I looked and looked and came to the conclusion that I was where God wanted me to be. Thursday after my accounts went down in a day by more than I made last year, I just wondered if I had really been listening. I prayed that God would show me a sign and I waited. At 8:30 PM, by friend/financial advisor sent a text about talking Friday. Friday was a good day for the market, our discussion was positive, and I was almost sure. Then I looked at how I had spent every day since the peak of the market and I realized I was busy doing exactly what God wanted me to be doing each and every day since. I was full of peace.
The final step of the day actually happened first, but wraps up the discussion. Early that morning I realized that even though I didn’t have coworkers to discuss things with, I had a better more significant source of support. As mentioned above, I am currently in both a mentoring group and an accountability group. So sensing things in the world were larger than I could handle, I reached out to them and asked them to pray for me. Nothing in the circumstances of my life changed when I made that request, but I knew that these men had faith in God and that their prayers would be heard and that God would take heed of my faith in Him and I would have a great March 12th in spite of the events going on in the world.
Other things happened March 12th, (I am sure of it) but for me it was another day of doing my best to follow God. There may not be a party on my birthday, but I know there is a big one waiting.
New SITE……………………….
I have finally gotten my act back together and have the blog up on a real website. I really want to use this to share my life for the glory of God, so please visit the site, subscribe to the blog, and share.