Foggy...

Most weekday mornings my husband and I share a cup of coffee while watching twenty minutes or so of the 5:30 a.m. news. Our news channel of choice is the local Fox station, Fox17.  We enjoy the low key camaraderie of morning crew, Deanna Falzone, Mike Avery and Garry Frank.  For the most part, twenty minutes gives us all the news, weather and traffic we need to start our day.

Lately, we've chuckled about Garry, the weather guy, and his apparent fascination with fog. During his weather recap, more often than not, he somehow manages to insert fog into his forecast. And more often than not, we never encounter fog. But on Monday, his forecast was accurate. Fog was heavy during my morning commute. While visibility was reduced, the sun worked hard to shine through the thick shroud.  On clear, sunny mornings, even shortly after sunrise, the sun is so bright, one cannot look directly at its brightness. On Monday morning, the fog allowed me to look full into the sun and see its splendor.

In my daily walk with God, I can relate to the sunny versus foggy weather conditions. Often on those days when things are going well and life's outlook is sunny, I don't even attempt to look for the Son. I'm oblivious to the warmth and beauty that gazes down and engulfs me. Yet on those days when life is gloomy and my direction seems foggy, I search for the Son and find his full glory. Always there. Always waiting.

Today I'm reminded to celebrate the sunny days with thanksgiving and joy. I'm reminded to set my eyes on things above, and find God there. And on those foggy days, when I cry out to the Lord, he is there. Always there. Always waiting.

Isaiah 43:2-4 (The Message):

“Don’t be afraid, I’ve redeemed you. I’ve called your name. You’re mine. When you’re in over your head, I’ll be there with you. When you’re in rough waters, you will not go down. When you’re between a rock and a hard place, it won’t be a dead end— Because I am God, your personal God, The Holy of Israel, your Savior. I paid a huge price for you: all of Egypt, with rich Cush and Seba thrown in! That’s how much you mean to me! That’s how much I love you! I’d sell off the whole world to get you back, trade the creation just for you.

Job Hunt

Our son, Barry, became a college alum in May. Woot! Woot! Woot! We applaud him, along with the multitude of graduates, for their hard work, dedication and perseverance these last four years. Over the past seventeen years, Barry woke each morning knowing the plans for the coming day, week and even year. He had a game plan and a life goal. The routine of class and study consumed the better share of his days.

That routine came to an abrupt end on May 4. On that Monday morning, he woke to a daunting new task.

The job hunt.

The search for jobs has changed dramatically in the years since my hunt. The newspaper job postings have been replaced with online job boards, staffing agencies, job fairs and web sites. Employers use web-based personality tests, video interviews and email to communicate instead of phone calls and face-to-face interviews. It's a rough world out there!

It's amazing the sheer number of jobs available via Indeed.com, CareerBuilder and Monster. From controller to cashier, teacher to custodian, sales rep to bus driver, hundreds of jobs are posted in West Michigan every day. And while my job hunter searches in a narrow range for his degree field, every job posted is important and necessary in the world we call home.

This weekend, the degree to which this is true was brought to light in Facebook posts and news articles. In a town in Illinois, a school custodian made headlines. "Mr. Steve" became famous for his role as custodian, or more importantly, his ability to impact children's lives at the elementary school were he is employed. Turns out that "Mr. Steve" made it his job to care about and look after the kids he encountered every day at his job.

Photo: Carrie Doig, Facebook/Bourbonnais Elementary School District

I don't know if Steve Weidner is a Christian, but I do know this:  God uses everyday, ordinary people to accomplish his purposes. God places us in our roles as sanitation engineers, accountants, teachers, sales reps, stay at home parents and vice presidents to work out his plan. God wants us to use our talents to further his kingdom. Right now. Right where we are. Right where we belong.

Click here to read Steve's story.

And read here to use your everyday, ordinary life to fulfill an extraordinary purpose:

Romans 12: 1-2 (The Message):

So here’s what I want you to do, God helping you: Take your everyday, ordinary life—your sleeping, eating, going-to-work, and walking-around life—and place it before God as an offering. Embracing what God does for you is the best thing you can do for him. Don’t become so well-adjusted to your culture that you fit into it without even thinking. Instead, fix your attention on God. You’ll be changed from the inside out. Readily recognize what he wants from you, and quickly respond to it. Unlike the culture around you, always dragging you down to its level of immaturity, God brings the best out of you, develops well-formed maturity in you.