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September 12, 2022

Thank you for Annso’s words last night affirming me, and the decisions I have made about buying our mopeds in Hawaii, getting the fish tank here, buying a house, and other things that take foresight without really knowing what will come of them. I have you and you alone to thank for that, Lord.

You guide me and direct me even in the impulsive decisions like the fish tank or getting chickens back in Hawaii. She resists me at first a little, but last night, she affirmed me after seeing that our Cichlids have little baby fish hiding in the rocks. How could I have known that would happen? That there would even be fish in the tank we bought, any of it? Of course I didn’t. You make me look good, even though I don’t know what I’m doing at the time. Thank you for that.

I pray for the wherewithal for more of that kind of prayer and leading. You are the best, Lord, and it’s so fun to be a part of those little things and see your hand at work. I ask for the right people to invite to hang out with me while Annso is gone.

It would be fun to have Jeremy come up again and Ken, maybe others. Please prompt me to invite the right people. You do this stuff even when I don’t pray, but I love the prayer about guiding our steps. “Many are the plans in the mind of a man, but it is the purpose of the Lord that will stand.” (Proverbs 19:21)

That’s a hard verse to interpret, but maybe it means something like: We plan and make our lists, but God has his way in the end. Makes me wonder how much choice we have about anything. We seem to be just driven along for the purpose of God, some for noble purposes and some for the opposite.

It’s probably best not to over-think that too much, and be happy and grateful for the place we have. Here we are in Rochester, a place I only drove through with John Anderson en route to St. Olaf College back in the early 90’s with motorcycles in the middle of the night, only to run out of gas. What a crazy ordeal. I didn’t even remember that until he reminded me of it on the phone the other day. We stopped for coffee every 15 minutes, because it was so cold riding those things up here at night.

How would I know that I would eventually move to Rochester plus or minus 30 years later, with my wife and infant son? You couldn’t make this stuff up.

Mornings are easier than nights. The night goes on forever, though I am thankful I can lay flat now. I am thankful for being able to lie next to Annso.                                                                                              >>>>>>>>>>
“Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ…. the God of all Comfort.” (2 Corinthians 1:3-4)