I know sometimes I create tension in a sermon by telling a story to illustrate a point.  This past Sunday, I confessed last week we were faced with a several challenges that caused tension in the Gaston home.  First, it was the challenge of taking care of our sick dog, Belle.  Belle is our 12 year old “cocker mix” (aka: mutt) who has been with us since 5 weeks old.  Pam and I adopted her from Petsmart in Irving, Texas in the summer of 1996.  This past year she has developed a growth on her neck, and last week we decided to get it removed.  Well this involved surgery which created some emotional and financial stress.  And to follow the old addage, “when it rains it pours”, our car decided to collapse on us after a busy weekend of Elevation.  We paid a few hundred dollars to get it fixed, and then it broke down again later in the week.  More problems!

These problems are so minor compared to others in our midst, but I shared them because in them I found myself getting angry and drifting to the distant country of “Whoa is me”!  I did not share how it all resolved which created questions about what happened.

I am happy to say that Belle is back to her playful self.  She has seemingly recovered from the trauma of this whole ordeal.  We are just waiting for the fur to return.  The kids have been so good feeding her medicine with peanut butter.  It has been a joy watching them tend to our dog.  Things have been much calmer this week at the Gaston home.  And about the car, it is doing good too.  We finally received our car on Monday with no extra charges due to the reoccuring problem.  I don’t know why, but that news felt so good.

One last moment of confession.  In my humor and story telling last Sunday, I feel I need to apologize.  I by no means dislike “Veterinarians” or “Auto Mechanics”.  If I offended your profession, that was not my intent.  I thank God for people like you that have this expertise.  Maybe that is why I get so frustrated, because I have no knowledge of what you are doing.  When a bill gets high, I get suspect.  Once again, forgive me for any offense.

Be blessed today!