Time for reflection

Queridos (Dear ones):

I wanted to place a quick post on our Bolivia blog before too much time went by... I am so grateful that in spite of my hemming and hawing, God, in His sovereignty placed me on the team that did arrive, and thrive, and return back home (in one piece, so to speak). To tell the truth, I was not very enthusiastic to go on the trip. I had a herniated disk in my lower neck and could have used that as an excuse to skip the trip. Also, I have been working with my son to try to get his house sold in order for him to pay off some sizeable debts (and recoup the thousands of dollars we have lent him to keep his bills up to date). Finally, we are stranded in the middle of a remodeling project where the guy (name withheld) we pre-paid (to help him with some bills as he was going through a messy divorce) is now not able to help us finish (because of some medical and behavioral issues), so we are going through a process of trying to find a contractor that can help us finish up the work before winter. All that being said, as I wrestled with the decision to go, I thought of that scripture where the various ones are giving excuses to the Lord for not following Him ("I have just bought some land and need to go look at it", or "I have just bought a pair of oxen and need to check them out", or "allow me to bury my father, etc.") and I thought this matched my situation exactly. I realized I had no excuse not to go for if I left those "issues" in His hands and put the gospel as a first priority, that, in His own way, he would take care of those lesser issues. Now, none of those issues have been resolved, but I know I have given them to Him to resolve and I do not feel as much of a burden for those things to get resolved. So, I wait in patience. All of these workings in my heart I must admit are truly works of His grace for the scripture says "by grace are you saved through FAITH and that (FAITH is) not of yourselves - it is the gift of God (He is the author and perfector of faithe itself). So, I hope some of these thoughts are helpful to you who read this posting. There is so much Christ wants to share with us if we are willing to step out of our comfort zone. He is strong (tough as nails I like to say) and able to "keep all that Thou hast given me", yet tender and compassionate to the brokenhearted and the helpless - praise be to his name! I will attempt to load some Bolivia photos from my camera in the next few days - but for now, just wanted to get a posting out. In His name and by His power, Mark Rusnak