July 2nd Reflection by Bill Lynch

Psalm 145:8-14
The Lord is gracious and merciful,
   slow to anger and abounding in steadfast love.
The Lord is good to all,
   and his compassion is over all that he has made.

All your works shall give thanks to you, O Lord,
   and all your faithful shall bless you.
They shall speak of the glory of your kingdom,
   and tell of your power,
to make known to all people your mighty deeds,
   and the glorious splendour of your kingdom.
Your kingdom is an everlasting kingdom,
   and your dominion endures throughout all generations.

The Lord is faithful in all his words,
   and gracious in all his deeds.
The Lord upholds all who are falling,
   and raises up all who are bowed down.

Reflection
How could I not see it? When I created the schematic and wired the components, the circuit didn't work as I expected. I checked for errors and found a few. I corrected those wiring errors and the device still did not perform as I expected. So, I checked again and again and again. I couldn't see my errors. I then asked one of my co-workers to check my work and check my logic.

She discovered a tiny flaw in my logic. This circuit would never work as I expected it to work. I listened to what she had to say and incorporated her ideas into my thinking. I rewired the entire project. It still didn't perform as expected. Once again I checked my work and found two wiring errors. With those errors corrected the device performed just as I had planned the second time using the input of my co-worker.

I was excited and happy that all of my work and the input of my friend had produced results. As I showed my device to my co-worker, she too was excited for me. In my eyes this was a beautiful creation that performed flawlessly.

Sometimes when I think of God my Creator and Savior, I think of how God must have been frustrated with me. God didn't create junk, but in my sinfulness and my ability to make good and bad choices I foul up what made God happy in the first place. So, it seems I make myself available to God and sometimes God just takes me where I am and reworks me. God takes me apart and consults the Holy Spirit and Jesus as to what to do with me now. And God puts me back together into something pleasing in God's sight.

As I am being reworked by God, I feel that deep love that the Creator has for the created and praise God. I sing praises to God that God did not pitch me into the trash and start all over on something new. God takes the time to work with me and in me and through me to make me into something pleasing.

How I look for that day when God can say... "Hey, he's just what I wanted! I'm so happy I took the time to work on him."

But until that day, I will rejoice that God is with me even in the midst of my flawed logic and sinfulness working on me to make me into something that pleases God. That God would spend time with and on me is enough to ignite the fire of a joyful response of love towards my Creator, my God, my Savior.

Song
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ukcYtRvAjPk

Prayer
Lord you are gracious and merciful, slow to anger and abounding in steadfast love. Lord you are good to all, and have compassion is over all that you has made. As I respond to your love, Lord, hear my song of praise to you... today... tomorrow... and forever. --- Amen