A WORD FOR TODAY, July 9, 2021: Repost with Scripture
Peggy Hoppes
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Blessings. Peg
A WORD FOR TODAY, July 9, 2021
“In the beginning, God created the heavens and the earth. The earth was formless and empty. Darkness was on the surface of the deep and God’s Spirit was hovering over the surface of the waters. God said, ‘Let there be light,’ and there was light. God saw the light, and saw that it was good. God divided the light from the darkness. God called the light ‘day’, and the darkness he called ‘night’. There was evening and there was morning, the first day. God said, ‘Let there be an expanse in the middle of the waters, and let it divide the waters from the waters.’ God made the expanse, and divided the waters which were under the expanse from the waters which were above the expanse; and it was so. God called the expanse ‘sky’. There was evening and there was morning, a second day. God said, ‘Let the waters under the sky be gathered together to one place, and let the dry land appear;’ and it was so. God called the dry land ‘earth’, and the gathering together of the waters he called ‘seas’. God saw that it was good.” Genesis 1:1-10, WEB
We have undergone a lot of change in the past few months. Our son moved out in February which set off a series of tasks around our house. The other catalyst was the death of my husband’s parents. He and his sister have had to deal with the estate, not just paperwork but also the clearing of the family home, a home that has been in the family for nearly two hundred years. The attic was filled with childhood toys and other things. The barn was filled with old tires. The basement was filled with piles of newspapers. There were many good things that were worth keeping or selling, but so much was just chaos.
Back at our house, both my husband and I decided that we would not leave our children a house full of chaos if we could help it. When our son moved out, his bedroom was transformed into my husband’s office. We cleaned furniture as it was moved in. I cleaned the desk. I cleaned the bookshelves. I cleaned the filing cabinet. Can anyone tell me why I still had tax paperwork from 1999? We had to have moved it to three different houses! I went through every drawer in this house, replacing “junk drawers” (they were all junk drawers) with drawers that have a purpose. I even left a few drawers empty. I’ve purged my books, leaving some shelves empty. We took a huge pile of items to Good Will. The house was a bit chaotic for awhile as we made decisions and found the right place for everything.
And now I’m ready to go even deeper. Our house is more than thirty years old, and much of it needs to be remodeled. We are starting with a bathroom. Unfortunately, this means more chaos. We are waiting for an estimate from the remodeler. I want to buy the pieces we need, but I don’t want to store it if it will be months before we can begin the work. This is how it is, though, isn’t it? Sometimes you need chaos before you can find order.
I’m not sure we can imagine the chaos and confusion that must have existed before God ordered all things. What would the earth have been like when it was nothing but waste and void? I would like to think I understand these things, to see in my mind’s eye what God saw before the beginning, but even the most analogous experiences of our lives can’t come close. Yet, God was able to make good and wonderful things happen with only His Word. He spoke and brought order out of chaos. He imagined the world and it came into being with light, heavens and earth, land and sea.
There are still tasks to accomplish before everything is completely in order in our house, but we are well on our way to having an updated home in which to live. There is always one thing that holds us together amidst the chaos and confusion in our world: God brings order out of chaos and He is working through our mess to establish peace in our hearts and our home.
A WORD FOR TODAY is posted five days a week – Monday through Friday. The devotional on Wednesday takes a look at the scripture from the Revised Common Lectionary for the upcoming Sunday. A WORD FOR TODAY is posted on Facebook at https://www.facebook.com/pages/A-Word-for-Today-Devotional/339428839418276. Like the page to receive the devotion through Facebook. For information and to access our archives, visit http://www.awordfortoday.org.
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