Good morning, Dear Friends and Prayer Partners! This is the day that the Lord has made and we will rejoice and be glad in it! Well, it looks like it will be another very hot day with lots of sun, just like yesterday. We had some clouds, but no rain. I stay out of the sun as much as possible with my skin that burns easily!
Yesterday, I saw a beautiful roseate spoonbill at Lynch Lake. They are such a pretty pink color! God made them for our looking pleasure. I went into the Park and noticed how neat the extra mowing made it look. All was quiet in the midday heat. Mike was out checking rain gauges or I would have spoken to him. His duties have diminished considerably lately and I will miss him when he retires.
There is a helicopter buzzing over the interstate as I type this. I hope it does not mean an accident. A short while ago, I heard sirens, so there probably was something that happened. I remember years ago, while walking in the park early in the morning, I was stopped by deputies from walking any more, because someone had hit another car and escaped over the fence around the park. They closed the park and escorted us back to our cars and we had to leave. That was the first time I met our friend, Terry. He took me back to the van and made sure I got out of the park safely. God is good!
From Quiet Moments with God:
We want each of you to show this same diligence to the very end, in order to make your hope sure.
Hebrews 6:11
Michelle looked around her office and felt a sigh rise from the depths of her soul. She had worked so hard for all of this and had put so many hours into her vision, especially at the beginning, when her company had only been a dream and her energy was committed to making the dream come true. Someone else had appreciated her creativity--a bigger, larger company that had bought her out in a forceful merger. Now all that was once hers belonged to an unseen face. It was like losing a family member.
Michelle looked out of her office window at her employees. She knew they had been looking to her, waiting to see how she would handle herself over the past four weeks. She was tempted to throw all her energy into a new pursuit, but she also knew that she had a commitment to see this old one to its end. It was a matter of integrity. The new company would never know if she spent her time--their time now--on this new pursuit. But she would know, and her employees would know. No, when she finally handed this company over, she would do so knowing that she had done her best to the very end.
Change takes place in all of our lives. One season end, and another begins. We may say good-bye to a job, a relationship, a town or a dream. With each ending, we have a choice. We can walk away without looking back, ignoring the closure and attention that's needed, or we can take the time to finish well--to tie up loose ends, to say our good-byes, to work hard right to the end. Only then can we know we have closed out the old chapter with integrity.
Is there an area of your life that needs attention today? Something that needs to be finished well? Take a moment and ask God to help you close the door. Then you can face your new beginning with confidence.
Thecrossroads are down here. Which way to pull the rein?
The left bring you but loss, the right nothing but gain.
Angelus Silesius
I always give thanks for you, remembering you in my prayers with thanksgiving, joy and love!
Love and hugs,
Amaryllis
(This devotional reminds me of Pastor Don's leaving and Pastor Rick coming.)
