Last weekend John and I were walking out of Sidecar Doughnuts and I looked back not so unlike Lot’s wife. But rather than turning into a pile of salt-and-butter doughnut, I noticed the sign painted on their window and I thought of the scripture about God’s mercies being new every morning. I know what you’re thinking, quite the leap, Pam. What can I say, I’m a doughnut-eating dot-connector. (Doughnuts=dots.)
There’s been an extreme heat wave here in Southern California. Triple digits even at the beach. I walked out of a movie late Monday night, and it was over 90°. Last few days, If I want to do my morning bike ride, I’ve had to be in the saddle at the crack of dawn before I’m a big baby and it’s sweltering. Yesterday it was 80° at 7 am, so I didn’t go. (My motivation starts to peter if it’s over 75°. So, if it’s 80°, forget it.) This morning, I overslept and figured it was already too hot, but when I checked weather.com on my laptop, it said it was—at that very moment—only 73°. Perfect, so I started to get my stuff together to head out. I picked up a couple of phone calls which delayed me a few more minutes, and checked the weather again, this time on my iPhone app. It reported 73° still. Cool! I even refreshed it just to make sure. So I got on my bike, pushed the play button on my phone to listen to Max Lucado (a sermon I’d chosen randomly) and started heading up the hill.
It felt way hotter than 73°. I got to the top of the hill and checked the weather app and the big sweaty number 81° popped up. Both weather sources had just said 73° not ten minutes before. Feeling tricked but also already committed, I decided to try and power through the ride.
Here’s the thing I know for sure, If I hadn’t gone on my ride today, I wouldn’t have heard the words of Max Lucado. The very words I so desperately needed, this very morning.
My name is Pam and I have a stronghold(s), also known weakness or Jericho.
His mercies are new every morning even when it’s hell out, maybe especially when it’s hell out—when the season feels off, when life doesn’t give you the ideal crisp Autumn morning, when the temperature continues to climb hotter than you’d like. I don’t know if you can use Max’s message of God’s mercy this morning, but for me, it sure refreshed.
Lamentations 3:23