Just a year ago. One year.  Twelve months.  We were getting ready to re-open our church.  We were planning to build a house in our parking lot.  I had no idea that Cheryl and I would come down with COVID-19 in October; that we would quarantine and recover for weeks; and that for months Cheryl would smell cigarette smoke 24/7 as a lasting side effect of COVID.  I would smell every evening what I can only describe as a mixture of tobacco and canned dog food. I had no idea that I would not be able to perform simple math in my head.  I could not even divide 75 by 3.  We didn’t know that our church would stay open for Christmas Eve as many churches closed.  But on that Christmas Eve it would snow, and snow, and snow.  People would be unable to get to the later Christmas Eve services because of ice, snow, and wind.

Wow! One year.

It got me thinking how we humans always want to know what is going to happen next.  What will the future bring?  We open up our fortune cookies waiting to see what it says.  We read predictions and books about the future.  But, looking back, I would not want to know that we were going to get sick.  I would not want to know that we would have weird smells for months.  Or why would we plan all those Christmas Eve services if I knew it was going to snow and snow.  It really is better that we do not know what is coming tomorrow. 

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As Jesus says: “Therefore do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about itself. Each day has enough trouble of its own.” Matthew 6:34

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It is just for us to trust in God and pray in the name of Jesus that God will see us through each day and each tomorrow, whatever worry or trouble it may bring.  Oh, I want to know what tomorrow brings, but God knows I can’t handle it and can’t be trusted with that information. And that’s OK.

By the way, Cheryl’s and my smelly side effects and math problems went away when we got vaccinated.  Thank you, Jesus!

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