The Crowes: Praise You In This Storm...

And I'll praise you in this storm

and I will lift my hands

for You are who You are

no matter where I am

and every tear I've cried

You hold in your hand

You never left my side

and though my heart is torn

I will praise You in this storm

I lift my eyes onto the hills
where does my help come from?
My help comes from the Lord, the maker of heaven and earth
I lift my eyes onto the hills
where does my help come from?
My help comes from the Lord, the maker of heaven and earth

It's been an interesting week. I caught a cold at the beginning of the week and felt awful for a couple of days. Now it seems to be in my chest, which is causing discomfort. Andy's at his breaking point with his job. On Saturday he only had one other person in the store from 7p-12a. He's unbelievably frustrated and dreads going to work. Work for me is insanely busy and a large conference I'm helping to plan is happening in two weeks, thus causing a great amount of anxiety. Honestly, it hasn't been a wonderful week. A part of me feels guilty for saying that I've had a bad week, considering Haiti's earthquake and a fellow church member's recent diagnosis of cancer.

In all of this, the words to Casting Crowns keeps ringing in my head, "I will praise you in this storm". When things go beautifully, I will praise God. And when things go terribly, I will praise God. It's an important reminder of His sovereignty and a lesson in patient endurance.

Pastor Dan delivered a wonderful sermon on Sunday that really spoke to my heart. He spoke on the parable of the gracious employer, in Matthew, chapter 20, verses 1-16.

“For the Kingdom of Heaven is like the landowner who went out early one morning to hire workers for his vineyard. ² He agreed to pay the normal daily wage and sent them out to work.

³ “At nine o’clock in the morning he was passing through the marketplace and saw some people standing around doing nothing. ⁴ So he hired them, telling them he would pay them whatever was right at the end of the day. ⁵ So they went to work in the vineyard. At noon and again at three o’clock he did the same thing.

⁶ “At five o’clock that afternoon he was in town again and saw some more people standing around. He asked them, ‘Why haven’t you been working today?’

⁷ “They replied, ‘Because no one hired us.’

“The landowner told them, ‘Then go out and join the others in my vineyard.’

⁸ “That evening he told the foreman to call the workers in and pay them, beginning with the last workers first. ⁹ When those hired at five o’clock were paid, each received a full day’s wage. ¹⁰ When those hired first came to get their pay, they assumed they would receive more. But they, too, were paid a day’s wage. ¹¹ When they received their pay, they protested to the owner, ¹² ‘Those people worked only one hour, and yet you’ve paid them just as much as you paid us who worked all day in the scorching heat.’

¹³ “He answered one of them, ‘Friend, I haven’t been unfair! Didn’t you agree to work all day for the usual wage? ¹⁴ Take your money and go. I wanted to pay this last worker the same as you. ¹⁵ Is it against the law for me to do what I want with my money? Should you be jealous because I am kind to others?’

¹⁶ “So those who are last now will be first then, and those who are first will be last.”

I've read this parable before and have had the same reaction as the early workers - why aren't they paid more? They did more work; they were in the fields longer. But as PD went through the passage, I was struck by verse 15 "should you be jealous because I am kind to others?". It was so wonderful to see salvation in this passage and God's immeasurable grace and mercy. It was an important lesson for me to remember to shut up and serve and not worry about my "payment". What I have received is so priceless, I don't deserve it. And yet, it's been given to me, because of Jesus. As Andy and I drove home from church, our conversation proved that the sermon had done its work in us. We both had the light bulb go off at the same time; we both got to see that our attitudes about work had been wrong. Instead of working to get something, we should serve because we love our Father, just as Jesus served because he loved His Father. It certainly is good to be reminded that humility is important.

In other news, the weather has been warmer, which is doing the most beautiful thing to the trees around here. Ice develops and then snow blows around and it makes the most beautiful landscape. This morning, I took a few minutes to snap some pictures.