Monthly Archives: December 2007

Lauralea tagged me as part of a meme.  The question being asked is, “How would you define simple faith in Christ?”

So I am going to have a go at answering this.  It took some time for me to answer this.  I appreciate the question – made me sit and think and that is good for me.   So here goes.

Simple Faith

It is hard to know what anyone understands by “simple faith.”  Is this just another way of simply saying “faith?”  Because when I begin to think about what faith means for me, it can become quite complicated.

Sometimes faith is so straightforward that it is simple.  I believe.  I have faith that God is.  I have faith that God loves me.  A bit like a child who trusts a parent.  And then as I think on that fact it suddenly becomes fairly overwhelming and unexplainable. 

I think that simple faith only looks simple to those on the outside. They don’t see the struggles that people of faith have and continue to work through.  My faith gives me the ability to trust in the truth of God’s existence, his presence in the universe and his benevolence towards me and all human kind even though it is beyond the grasp of my intellect.  There is factual evidence that points me towards God but that does not prove God in the scientific way of proving a fact.  Doubts may come but when they do I am reminded, “Where else is there to turn?”  I won’t find what I need within myself (I know myself too well) or in political and economic systems (they are full of flaws).  When life falls apart for me – or the world – God remains for me the only true thing that is good.  There is nothing better and no where else to turn.

My faith is also sustained by the testimony of his people throughout history, the vastness and complexity of nature, and the life changing effects faith in God has on people, including the way that God continues to act in my own story as I live it out. 

It is this experience of God acting in my life that has really solidified my faith.  In some way, beyond explanation, beyond words, God is present with me, communicates with me and empowers me to live out a life of trying to follow the teachings of Jesus.  My experience is that God is real, present and interested in what goes on in my life and the world. 

That might sound simple and childish.  I guess that is simple faith.  I haven’t found anything better in all the world.

 And part of a meme is always tagging someone else.  Not sure I will tag four or five but how about Dixie, Toni, and Sharon K?

It all began last evening.

After work my car would not start.  I did not have time yesterday to start it at noon and then the afternoon became very busy and it slipped my mind.  Till the end of the day.  From the basement of my office I clicked on the button of my remote car starter.  The signal light flickered green and the signal was sent.  I finished up a few things and then just as R and L were driving away and I too was leaving the building, I realized that my car was NOT running.

Key in the ignition; turned; a low grumble but the motor would not turn over.

So I went back in and called Leo to tell him I would be late getting home and what my problem was.  At that time he informed me that the house would be cold when I got home.  The control panel on our furnace has been acting up – AGAIN – and so the repair people had investigated and discovered a little part that was disintegrated.  It was coming by bus around 8 and the plumber would be back to install it at night.

Called CAA for a boost and called Sara to bring over the long extension cord just in case it took too long for the tow truck to arrive.  Sara and the tow truck arrived at the same time.  By now it was after 6 and I was getting hungry.

The house was cold.   First thing done was to start a fire in the fireplace, turn on the oven, start the spaghetti(because boiling water also warms up the house).  Then a trip outside for more wood.

I thought, “this won’t really be so bad, the furnace should be fixed by about 9.”  I’ll get things going and then will look for the space heaters and warm the place up.

The plumber arrived about 8:30 with a box from the bus depot.  The box was shipped empty!  He was not impressed.

We were mostly just cold and not looking forward to a very cold night.

Leo and I were playing Mr and Mrs home repair – I was putting together the bed frame and he was bolting the handrails back onto the stairs.  We changed some light bulbs and thought we had things pretty much under control.  Well….

Sometime in the night the breaker to the basement plugs blew – the heater down there was too much I guess.  The fireplace  had run out of fuel in the night and  was letting cold air in to the living room.

I restarted the heaters, flipped the breaker and decided that the one heater had entirely given up the ghost.  Heated water – since our furnace is also our boiler and hot water heater, made coffee and then thought – Wal-Mart is open 24 hrs a day right now.  I can go there before work and get a new heater,  so I did.

Got to work and one of my assistants can not come in.  She is sitting with her son at the hospital.  His arm was broken during a hockey game last night.

CAN ANYTHING ELSE GO WRONG?

Yep.  I imagine.

Just to be safe I went and started my car.

I have acquired a personal shopper to assist me in the purchase of a snowblower.  He’s looking for one too and has done all the research and stuff.  What a blessing!

I guess it is time to admit that I am getting too old to go out there and shovel.  Not to speak of me being terribly out of shape and unfit for this kind of physical labor.

Only one drawback – the machine has to be ordered.  There are therefore to be no more heavy snowfalls until after Dec. 19.  By my decree.

And if my wish does not come to be – well.   I guess I will have to hope that my cries for assistance are noticed as I collapse into one of my very deep snowbanks.

We got a good bit of the white stuff overnight and even though the sun is shining it seems to be falling out of the blue.  I suppose it is blowing off the roof.

This morning saw me outside early shoveling the front deck at about 6 am.

Today we are supposed to be having delivered a new bed for our spare room downstairs in the basement.  And I would really like it for this weekend when a few of my offspring are arriving with babies in tow.  You see I want them to sleep well enough so that thye will decide to come back again soon.  And they will all be here for Christmas.  I want to be ready.

So the delivery people have to be able to get to the door.

We have a long driveway and one of those pie shaped lots that is wider in the back then at the front.  As I was shoveling snow off the steps and deck, I had to throw it way over the snow piled up already.  We do not have much room to dispose of snow.  It is only  the first week in December.  I suspect we’ll have more snow one of these days.  Not sure where we will put it.