Are We Following His Instructions?

 The tornado that went through our property at 10:58 Sunday night has provoked alot of thoughts and feelings and I feel like I need to share. Maybe this is a message you need to hear. I don't know. I just know that I have been prompted to share. I am guessing it'll be over several different posts because there has been so many things on my mind. 

The tornado ripped through my garden- the space I have been working on for the last several years to make it a little bit of paradise here on earth. We don't travel much - I much prefer to stay home. And decided instead of spending money on trips away from home home why not spend that money on my own property to make it a place to enjoy. That way I can have mini vacations when I walk around my garden and work there or just to enjoy it. And when the fence panels rip through your hard work and damage things, damaging and killing plants along the way, it is traumatic. And when I look out there or go out there- many times I am overwhelmed with emotions. 

One of my clothes line's posts had the tee part busted off- by flying fence panels. So this week while pulling things out of the wash machine- I was reminded - No you can't go hang that up. And it made me sad. Especially since I found 2 nice towels, a hand towel and a wash cloth at the thrift store for a pretty good deal- SO I had extra towels that I would have loved to have hung up to dry, but no.... : ( 

There have been many emotional moments over last week. I try not to dwell on the sadness. I try to start praising God that there wasn't more damage done. Praising God can change your attitude and it has really helped because I am experiencing less and less sad moments. 

All of this has reminded me of a verse in the Bible: 

Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of compassion and the God of all comfort, 4who comforts us in all our troubles, so that we can comfort those in any trouble with the comfort we ourselves receive from God. 5For just as we share abundantly in the sufferings of Christ, so also our comfort abounds through Christ. 

2 Corinthians 1:3-5

What really stands out to me and the main reason I chose the NIV to share is ~ 
"the Father of compassion and the God of all comfort" and then the part "SO that we can comfort those in any trouble with the comfort we ourselves receive from God." 

God has compassion for us and calls us to be compassionate with others who are suffering. Are you following His instructions? Just something for us to think about today. 

 "God does not comfort us to make us comfortable, but to make us comforters/" 

John Henry Jowett 

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