Dead stop

            When Elsa and I go for our walks, due to her age, I allow her to lead and decide how fast and far we will go. She does, however, possess the annoying habit of quite suddenly and without warning come to a dead stop directly in front of me. If I am not paying attention, I will stumble and fall.

            Last week, my laptop did a very similar move and came to a dead stop giving me a black screen and only a black screen. So many emotions coursed through me as I stared at the screen; anger, heartache, devastation to name a few. I keep my writings and other documents for volunteer work that I do that are particularly important to me. I walked away from it and stressed about it for a bit. Then I prayed and went to bed. After work the following day I decided to see if I could change the video card (as recommended by friends) so I unplugged it, removed the battery and opened the back panel, stared at the innards, blew away some dust and slapped it a couple times. (I could not discern the video card). I put it all back together and turned it on, lo and behold, it worked! I immediately backed up my documents and gave thanks to God.

            I think God gives us such dead stops when we aren’t paying attention. We go along from day to day with our noses to the grindstone and we neglect to see the works of God in our lives. For myself, I was wrapped up in details of a worthy project but my focus left out God. My blank screen reminded me that I am not the one in ultimate control. The next time he gives you a dead stop, just remember, God is good, all the time. All the time, God is good.

Psalm 46: 8-10 “Come and see what the Lord has done, the desolations he has brought on the earth. He makes wars cease to the ends of the earth. He breaks the bow and shatters the spear; he burns the shields with fire. He says, “Be still, and know that I am God; I will be exalted among the nations, I will be exalted in the earth.”