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Faithfulness

                 Give thanks to the Lord, for He is good, For His faithfulness is everlasting.

Give thanks to the God of gods, For His faithfulness is everlasting.
Give thanks to the Lord of lords, For His faithfulness is everlasting.
To Him who alone does great wonders, For His faithfulness is everlasting;
To Him who made the heavens with skill, For His faithfulness is everlasting;
To Him who spread out the earth above the waters, For His faithfulness is everlasting;
To Him who made the great lights, For His faithfulness is everlasting:
The sun to rule by day, For His faithfulness is everlasting,
The moon and stars to rule by night, For His faithfulness is everlasting. (Psalm 136:1-9)

          There is one thing that this psalm wants make very abundantly clear. There is to be no doubt in anyone’s mind. “His faithfulness is everlasting.”  I hit walls. I may eat the same thing every day or keep doing some specific activity for years. One day, often with little warning that I notice, I would rather die than have anything to do with whatever it was. Some folks say I’m loyal. Others say I’m crazy. I think both may be true, but if one isn’t, the inaccuracy is in my loyalty. Someday, I will walk away, probably at the time least convenient to anyone else. And I realize that what I am doing it inconvenient, wrong, frustrating for others. I just have nothing left.

          I know I’m not alone in this. Two people stand in front of witnesses and promise, “until death do us part,” and before either is dead, say, “Well, it’s over. Goodbye.” Because I’ve been on the failing end when it comes to faithfulness, the statement that God’s faithfulness is everlasting is of special significance. God doesn’t hit walls. He doesn’t run out of whatever it is that I run out of. He doesn’t go on vacation, or quit his job, or abandon us.

          I’m finding this more real this fall than I have in the past. I think I have only had one or two days without gainful employment weeding. Sometimes, I have (nearly) finished one job before the next comes along. Tomorrow I plan to finish one, and I have three scheduled after it. If the weather stays tolerable, I may have to pick up the pace. It’s not a lot of money because I don’t spend a lot of time doing it on any given day, but I’m enjoying God’s provision.

          I came to Florida at the very end of the season for butterflies and found a caterpillar on my passion vine. I found another and found a third in the mesh habitat. It was apparently an egg on a leaf when I brought it in. I’m up to six. After butterfly season.

          These are comparatively trivial examples of God’s faithfulness, but faithfulness is faithfulness, no matter the size of the act it produces. 

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