…and His Will be Done

It’s nice to be able to get away once in a while. When I go away, I like to have time to think; time to contemplate; time to clear my head. I’ve been fortunate enough to be able to do that over the holidays, and how refreshing it has been. Janet and I decided to close The Shoe Repair Shop down for Christmas and New Years’ and take a road trip to Texas to visit our son and daughter-in-law. We were able to celebrate Christmas with our daughter and son-in-law and our two grandkids in Michigan the weekend before, and then we hit the road and headed south.

During this year of turmoil, grief, uncertainty, and despair, I find my family to be a true comfort. I know that not everyone has the chance or the opportunity to do this, but for me, being able to hug my children and grandchildren is a gift from God. Christmas brings a lot of that together for me. I see Christmas as a time for hope; as a time for family; and, as a time to celebrate the birth of our Lord, Jesus Christ. I am pushing 62 years of age and only have so many opportunities to celebrate this time of year with those I love, and I want to make the most of every one of these special days.

This part of the year also allows a lot of time for reflection. And I like to reflect. I can reflect, or daydream, on just about anything. I can reflect on my childhood or on events that are taking place in the world today. I also like to start my day off with a walk. At home, I do this on the treadmill, but here in Texas, where it was 72 degrees at 10 o’clock this morning, I like to take a long walk around the neighborhood. I have a routine for my walk. As I start my walk, I start my talk with God. The first thing I do is thank Him for giving me one more day. Then I start my conversation with Him. Why is this happening? Why is that happening? What is it that I should be doing? When I get stuck or need to re-focus myself, which happens a lot, I recite a phrase that I have been using for most of this year. It starts with the first verse of Psalm 23: “The Lord is my Shepherd, I shall not be in want.” I love Psalm 23. It was one of the first pieces of scripture that I committed to memory after I became a Christian. I usually recite all of Psalm 23 as I start to re-focus, and then just the first verse over and over again with one added phrase, “…and His will be done.”

“The Lord is my Shepherd, I shall not be in want, and His will be done.”

 That is a huge reminder for me. It is not my will that needs to be done, but His will. No matter what is going on in the world today. Whether it be politics, racial division, China, Russia, or Covid 19, I have to remind myself that it is His will that will be done, not mine. In the book of Matthew, chapter 6, Jesus is teaching the disciples how to pray. It starts like this: “Our Father in heaven, hallowed be Your name, Your kingdom come, YOUR WILL BE DONE, on earth as it is in heaven.” No matter what I think about the goings-on in this world, it is never my will but His will that will be done. As long as I continue to remind myself of that, then everything that happens in this world is put into its proper perspective.

It doesn’t matter if I am a Democrat, Republican, conservative, liberal, or my race. God is in charge and it is His will for all of us. We may not understand the reasons for much of what is going on in this world. We may not even agree with much of what is going on in this world. That doesn’t matter. What does matter is that we understand that God is in total control of everything. Our time here is a gift from Him. A gift that we should be thankful for every minute of every day. The more often that I remind myself of that, the more often that I realize that I need to be doing something with that gift.

Hopefully today, you will be reminded to thank God for this day and to give thanks that it is His will that will be done, and not ours.

Happy New Year to you all!

God bless,

John