Tag Archives: God’s will

The anvil and the angel

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Last week, I shared with you some tree signs at a park near my house.

At first, someone tucked a little angel under a tree.

Treesigns2020_3FT

Several days—or maybe a week or two later (who can keep track right now?)—the angel found a more prominent home.

AngelandAnvil2020_1FT

I saw the angel glinting in the setting sun, sitting atop an anvil on a monument in the park. For the first time, I wondered why an anvil topped the monument.

AngelandAnvil2020_2FT

One side of the memorial held the answer:

“God forges us on an anvil of adversity for a purpose known only to Him. That is the way He prepares us for life.” – JE Broyhill

Wow, I thought, an anvil of adversity. I think most of us can relate to that statement more now than ever, to that feeling of being in a hard place where we don’t want to be. Wouldn’t it feel better to slide right off that anvil and go about life as we knew it before COVID-19?

But perhaps we can look at that bright angel atop the anvil and think of ways God is with us, preparing us for life after the virus. I’m glad the angel is there. It’s a reminder that the anvil isn’t the final answer.

Maybe that little angel can help us feel less alone. And maybe it can be the spark, the encouragement we need to find ways to come through this experience kinder, more willing to help others, more ready for whatever God has planned for us.

If you’d like support for the adversity you’re facing now, I’d be honored to lift you up in prayer. Just leave your request in the comments below. Be well, my friends.

When the world is silent about your dreams

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“And do not be conformed to the world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind, so that you may prove what the will of God is, that which is good and acceptable and perfect.” Romans 12:2

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My husband and I have been TV junkies this week, thanks to the World Track & Field Championships going on in Moscow. There’s typically about four hours of live coverage for us to record overnight and then two more hours mid-day. So when we settle in for the evening, we take our dinner and sit on the couch and try to go through the six or so hours of coverage as quickly as possible. Afterward, I catch up on Facebook and Twitter, sites I dodge throughout the day so I don’t see outcomes of any of the race.

It’s an exciting week to be a track and field fan, but it’s frustrating, too. NBC never shows enough of the distance races, instead breaking up a lap or two here and there with field events and even a news story about anticipated trouble in the upcoming winter Olympics, which will be held in the Soviet Union. There’s a time and place for those stories, but right in the middle of a 10,000 meter race? Not the time.

I’ve also been struck by NBC’s poor announcing. I mean, I expect poor announcing in general from the network, because NBC seems unwilling to hire commentators who get excited about what they’re watching, but specifically, I’m shocked when they don’t even mention an American athlete’s name during a race. This is an American broadcasting company, and its commentators can’t bother to name all three Americans running in a particular race?

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