14 November 2008

A Small Bone Turns Into a Big Break

It all started with a distracted misstep and a fall. It ended up with a broken bone, a cast and three weeks of bed rest.

Small things can make a big difference.

It was just a one inch step I did not navigate well. It is just a little bone under the smallest toe. It took just a second or two to happen. But the results are significant. A purple and swollen foot…Pain… Immobilization…Cancelled plans…Tasks undone…Reliance on others.

As I have had more time on my hands lately, I have been reading a lot more than I usually do. It seems that everything I read and even the DVDs that I have watched have served to communicate the same message—have faith, trust in God. A small portion of faith, as small as a mustard seed, can cause big things to happen.

We, like many of you have been confronting some major obstacles and challenges (more long- term than a three-week convalescence.) The economic crisis in the U.S. has hit us and many of our friends hard. There has been unprecedented violence in our two neighboring cities of Tijuana and Rosarito that has made this last month the bloodiest ever. We know many people who are facing serious health issues, family crises, death in their families, marital problems, depression and even thoughts of suicide. People are scared, worried, hopeless and tired.

Honestly, there have been times lately as our energy and resources have run low that we have been prone to worry, fear and even despair. But God has faithfully been reminding us that we need to trust in Him and not in what we have or what the prognosis is for the future. He has used the book of Nehemiah to show us what leadership submitted to and dependent on God looks like and what He can accomplish through those who look to Him and trust in Him. He has used friends to give us other books that carry the same message--believe in God’s Word and His promises, not in our feelings or our circumstances.

We know many of you are facing overwhelming obstacles in these days as well. We want you to know that we are praying for you and asking God to bless you and your families, your households and your businesses. Just as in our community, you have the opportunity to be a voice of faith, to declare that “I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me” and “My God will supply all your needs according to His riches in glory in Christ Jesus.” (Philippians 4: 13; 19)

Let’s take God at His Word. Let’s be a voice of hope and healing for our communities, our cities, our nations and our world.