NOVEMBER 7

Psalm 40:1-4

                     TRUST GOD.

Tim kicked at a stone on the pavement. “Did I tell you that I can’t go live with my dad?” he asked his friend Boon. “It’s been decided that we kids have to stay with Mom.” Tim sighed. “Dad always took time to do stuff with me. You know - guy stuff. Now I’ll get to be with him only every other weekend.” “Well, you can talk to him on the phone, too, can’t you?” asked Boon. “You still have a lot to be thankful for.”

As Boon spoke, Tim noticed that his eyes were bright. “Are those tears in Boon’s eyes?” wondered Tim. As he thought about it, he realized that, although he’d known Boon since the beginning of the school year, he’d never seen or heard anything about his friend’s father. “Does your dad live with you?” Tim asked. Boon shook his head. “My dad died,” he said softly. “Oh! I’m sorry,” said Tim, not sure what else to say.

“It’s been tough, and I miss Dad a lot,” Boon said finally, “but one day, Mom helped me understand how she deals with it. You can stretch rubber bands across a box and strum them like a guitar, so I tried it.They make different sounds, depending on how tight they are. Some of the rubber bands fit over my box easily,” continued Boon, “but others were tight and had to be stretched out thin in order to get around the cardboard. A few even snapped.” He was silent, remembering the incident.

“What does that have to do with missing your dad and getting along without him?”Tim asked.

“Mom pointed out that when I strummed my make-believe guitar, the rubber bands that fit super-tight made more music-like sounds than the ones that were loose. She said life is like that, too, that as things happen, we’re stretched like those smaller rubber bands,” explained Boon. “We may be uncomfortable, but we can choose to make music even during the hard times of our lives, or we can give up and snap and be useless.” Boon paused again, then added, “Mom and I decided to trust God to use this hard part of our lives for His good.” He looked shyly at his friend. “I... I’ll pray that you’ll be able to do that, too.”

Thought: Have things happened in your life that are hard to accept?The death of someone you love, a divorce in the family, a diffcult time at school?
Prayer:Father in heaven,I know that at times,You allow tough things to happen to me. I pray that with Your help, I’ll “make music” by accepting whatever circumstances You allow to enter my life. And let my attitude be a testimony for You, to encourage others to trust You, too. In my Saviour’s name I pray, Amen.