Saturday, September 11, 2021                                  (today’s lectionary)
Settling onto a good foundation
While Andi had a school meeting on Friday, Miles and Jasper spent the day with us. Since Miles goes to school himself for pre-K classes, it’s been awhile since we’ve had a day with them together. They had a great day today. We all had a great day today.
Praise, you servants of the Lord, praise the name of the Lord. Blessed be the name of the Lord both now and forever.
The boys nailed roofing nails into 4x4s, started building a miniature replica of their new screened-in patio (just finished this week), tried out my electrical drill without bits, even helped me cut a piece of wood for their project. And after lunch, when a dry-erase marker cap flew under the refrigerator, they got down on the floor with their plastic gloves, yardstick and fancy flashlight and pulled out … well, the cap, yes, but as Miles said to Margaret, “Grandma, you wouldn’t believe the stuff that’s down here!” They got it all out and packed it over to the waste basket.
Who is like the Lord, our God, and looks upon the heavens and the earth below? He raises up the lowly from the dust; from the dunghill he lifts up the poor.
For lunch we rolled hotdogs and pickles and ketchup up in tortillas. Jasper ate the tortilla, and Margaret offered to help him with his dog, but his toddler tastes mostly turn away from meat these days, if hotdogs even count as meat. He loves pickles, though, the more sour the better.
Miles brought a one boy pop-up tent to sleep in during nap, but he decided to take a nap with Grandpa. (Sometimes he calls me “Dave,” but I don’t always answer. I say, “Yes, grandson?” We go back and forth on that.) Before our nap we read books on construction sites, fire trucks, and a controversial-in-the-family book that he loves, Examining Airplane Crashes. He feels called these days to be a fireman on an airport fire truck. He explained everything he knew about them to me today.
From the rising to the setting of the sun is the name of the Lord to be praised. High above all nations is the Lord; above the heavens is his glory.
I’m sure Miles and Jasper will do their fair share of traveling. Their hopes and dreams aren’t settled, but both of them are learning how to think that way. One of Miles’ favorite songs right now is “What Does God Require?” and he sings it with gusto. Jasper’s enthusiasm for every part of life that he can reach demands more words than his two-year old mind can quite call up.
If you work my words into your life, you are like a smart carpenter who dug deep and laid the foundation of his house on bedrock. When the river burst its banks and crashed against the house, nothing could shake it; it was built to last.
Will they build screened-in patios on good foundations, or on sand? I think, I hope, I pray, on good foundations.
After Andi took the boys home, we took our lease renewal (another year in Austin!) to Susan, Evolve Apartments’ new property manager. She’s looking forward to the weekend, because she’ll be helping her niece and family of four move out of her home. “I’ll get my house back again!”
Of course she’s happy to have some privacy again. What I thought, though, as we sat together in the afternoon sun, was about how willing she had been to share her home with them for awhile. Her decision testifies to an internal house built on rock … right? Susan’s generosity prevailed against all that other stuff that makes you say “NO!” instead of “YES!!”
This saying is trustworthy and deserves full acceptance: Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners. And I’m proof – Public Sinner Number One – of someone who could never have made it apart from sheer mercy. God even shows me off, evidence of his endless patience, to those who are right on the edge of trusting him forever.
By the end of the day, a little groggy after a long nap, I needed Susan’s faithfulness and optimism, just to catch my breath. Hope rises, hope sets, my joy comes and goes, and I knew God was showing off through Susan, just for me.
(1 Timothy 1, Psalm 113, John 14, Luke 6)
(posted at www.davesandel.net)
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