Good Morning, Church Family and Friends,
There is an old story about a college student who wrote a letter home to her parents. “Dear Mom and Dad, I’m sorry I’ve been so long in writing, but all my writing paper was lost the night the dormitory burned. I’m out of the hospital now, and the doctors say my eyesight should finally come back to normal. The wonderful boy, Bill, who rescued me from the fire kindly offered to share his apartment with me. He comes from a wonderful family so you won’t be too surprised to learn that we are married and are expecting your first grandchild. Love, Mary. P.S. Please disregard the above practice in English composition. There was no fire. I am not blind. I am not married and don’t even have a boyfriend. I did get a ‘D’ in chemistry and an ‘F’ in biology, and I wanted you to receive this news in the proper perspective.”
Beyond whatever humor may be in this story, there is a profound lesson. The bad things that happen to us can take on a different dimension if seen in a different context. It must have been an awareness of this truth that prompted the coining of the phrase, “Every cloud has a silver lining.” Things are never quite as bad as they could be, as that college student pointed out to her parents. Even the worst things leave room for thanksgiving if we examine them carefully enough.
The apostle Paul said centuries ago, “All things work together for good for those who love God” (Romans 8:28). This was his way of saying that those who are sensitive to the Creator’s intent can find the light in every dark day and that every disaster contains the seeds of good.
There is no darkness without light,
Bruce Jones, Pastor
Imagine Church
