Friday March 13, 2009
Multitudes, multitudes in the valley of decision! For the day of the LORD is near in the valley of decision. Joel 3:14.
Home! At last! It’s been a week since my last blog, but that time has seen us fly from England to Montreal, spend some time with Alex our daughter and family there and fly back to Lethbridge, arriving Wednesday evening. As you can imagine, the last day has been spent unpacking, opening a ton of mail, renewing expired insurances and licences, trying to remember where everything is, or was when we left and generally reorienting ourselves to life as we remember it, gratefully assisted by two nights in our own bed!
We are both exhausted from a particularly busy time at the house in Worthing, rounds of visits with family and—in the space of the last few days—two time zone changes and clocks put forward an hour. We are taking a few days to do only what is absolutely necessary plus some enjoyable pottering before we plunge into the coming few weeks. My surgery for prostate removal is slated for March 30th and a pre-op on the 16th. Ann has to give permission today for some minor foot surgery which is scheduled for April 7th in Cardston. She also has papers for an independent university study due before the end of April. Life doesn’t change—still searching for that comfortable rut!
But we are thankful to God for the opportunities given us to serve and keep in touch with our family, in spite of the heavy schedule we have followed. We recognize our lives are mostly the result of decisions we have made and looking back we would not have done most things differently. Our text today reminds us that we will all be judged according to the decisions we have made, and the ungodly practices of the nations will one day be judged on the Day of the Lord—there will be a true and final justice for all. It is a sharp reminder that our decision for or against the claims of the righteous Judge of all the earth will have ultimate consequences for eternity.