The Week Begins

Here I raise my Ebenezer –

Here by Thy great help I’ve come –

And I hope, by Thy good pleasure,
Safely to arrive at home.

Saturday was another Ebenezer stone – weather that was unseasonal in its coolness and lovely in its fresh sunshine. It was a day to “do” small stuff – and enjoy all that is extraordinary about the ordinary, knowing all the while that being free to get a few chores done, and have the resources and mobility to garden will never be “ordinary” for those who were in Boston, or West, Texas. And these past two weeks show me getting home can be sudden, horrific and apparently quite random.

All kinds of emotions had been derailing me as I read of heartbreak, and broken leadership – but through a news program, I saw a recounting of another sorrowful time through which God brought America -- Birmingham Children’s March -- One huge memorial to show how far God had led African American parents to trust Him with their children.

It mattered in 1963 how Christian Americans lived; it still matters how Christians live in this broken  – upside down, opposite world. And Ebenezers are many and varied, just like people.

So, I have a choice; today, I read a piece by John Piper on staying steady in uncertain times:

“ . . . So, I can choose to let that brokenness govern me and turn it into sins. Or I can choose to say, “I’m going to deal with the brokenness I have and try to steer my way through my brokenness to do as much good for others and avoid as much sin as I can.” (John Piper)

I hope your Monday, and the week ahead is filled with “Ebenezers” gentle readers; memorial stones that guide your walk, and comfort your heart, and renew your mind. (See Romans 12:1-2)

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