Day 49 - meteors

Just woke from my "nap" to make sure I get this written tonight, since many of you will be reading this before I wake again tomorrow. Right now, I'm trying to stay up for the last night of the meteor shower. (I'll have to wait at least another hour.) We're not so sure we'll be able to see anything because of the cloud cover, but if we don't try, we'll have missed it due to our own negligence. Never fun when you have no one but yourself to blame! : }

But, what started the day for me was getting up for church. We had a 45 minute drive and had to be there early for Greeter duty. I thought to myself, "Wow! that's commitment to take that long to get to church!" Then I thought about it. If I take the bus or train to church in New York, I need to leave my house at least that early, sometimes earlier. On a Sunday morning that particular bus only comes every half hour. I need to catch the one that comes 35 minutes before church begins or I arrive during the sermon. So, 7 minutes to walk to the bus, 10-20 minutes to wait for the bus, about a 20 minute bus ride and another 5 minutes to walk to church from the bus stop. Hmmm, looks like I have a 45 minute commute to church, too. I don't know, though. 45 minutes of highway driving, still seems longer than a walk, a wait and a ride. I guess it is all in the perspective.

What dost thou think?

I walked down memory lane with the red hymnal at church this morning. I was remembering Bridgeport from when I was a kid and also sitting next to Grandma at Salem. The hymns had words like abideth, doth and art, and my favorite, "vaunted pleasure" (some of you can even hear the tune to that particular hymn now). We did use the 2000 worship supplement so I could not sing along for memory there. But this is what I did do...

Because the words are not what I speak, in order to get the point of the verses, I had to think a little bit more. The thinking led me to wondering who wrote this and when. I looked at the hymns we sang. The words were written in 1577, 1667, 1863, 1923... I went back to the scripture readings; 60 AD, 30 AD, 1000 BC (I don't really know, I'm guessing). Not only was I singing along with Grandma, I was singing along with "a great cloud of witnesses". It brought tears to my eyes for a number of reasons. I think the main reason was - God is MORE than I think he is. (and I think he's pretty awesome!)

When it comes down to it, there is nothing new under the sun. God's mercies are new every morning. God is the same yesterday, today and forever. The challenges of life boil down to some simple mantras when we can recognize this. LSB 696, O God, My Faithful God, is one I will adopt for the time being. You can decide if it works for you, as well. : )

(this is verse 2 - the others are awesome, too)

Grant me the strength to do

With ready heart and willing

Whatever You command,

My calling here fulfilling;

That I do what I should

While trusting You to bless

The outcome for my good,

For you must give success

I just went out to check on the meteors. Didn't see any. There were lots of stars though, many more than a New York City skyline allows me on a regular basis. So, it was worth the adventure. In any case, it is time for bed now. Talk to you again tomorrow! Peace!

#wildlifenature #Lessonslearned