Psalm 30:12b  O LORD my God, I will give you thanks forever.

What an adventure we are on!  Laid off from my job at the college – but in a kind way in which I wasn’t blind-sided by the event; able to move to NE Ohio to be with three of our sons and their families; able to look for a job amidst an economy where jobs are scarce; able to watch my two granddaughters just here from Brazil have a snowball fight before they caught the school bus; able to experience disappointments in opportunities that weren’t and finding new opportunities where there didn’t seem to be any.

It’s like the game of Sudoku that challenges our puzzle-solving abilities.  The numbers we start with provide the clues to identify the missing numbers and locate them appropriately in the grid.  The games are structured from very easy to very difficult.  Sometimes identifying what number goes where seems beyond me.  But bottom-line is the reality that there is a solution to each one.  Some are just more challenging – just like the situations we face in life.

Our God is our solution in the ‘puzzles of life’.  In the midst every adventure, whether easy or difficult, He is with us, helping us whether we are aware of it or not.  The more we rely upon Him, the better our ‘solutions’ will be.  We are never hopelessly lost in a maze.  He, His love and His support are the givens in our lives – no matter what happens.  The amazing resource we have when we recognize the security we have in Him!

There was a job opportunity that seemed tailored expressly for me.  Much to my surprise that door was closed.  That simply meant the Lord has something else for me.  No matter what happens we are not victims – even if someone else makes a mistake or is wrong in their judgment!  We are not at the mercy of anyone but our Lord.  This trust and confidence are bedrock convictions in our lives that reflect the reality of the wondrous work Jesus has done in us.

Remember in Matthew 7:24-26 where Jesus taught about the wise and foolish builders.  The reality of the story is that storms come – both to those who build upon sand and those who build upon rock.  How wonderful it is to build our lives upon the Rock so that when the storms come, we are able to glorify Him and give Him thanks forever – in the midst of the storm!