"Life changes fast, doesn’t it?"

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When this big snowfall happened, and the power went out, and the trees fell, I’m cleaning them up with some God-sent help, my wife measured how much fell and I discovered varying amounts nearby, listening to my life about how much diversity God creates daily.

Well, less than a week after this ten inch snowfall that prompts me to listen to my life in so many wonderful ways, the temperature climbs to 82 degrees. That’s right, in less than a week, we went from ten inches of snow and a low of 18 to the snow is all melted, the jonquils are blooming, the birds are singing and I’m sweating while gardening outside.

Life changes about that fast, too, doesn’t it? One day everything is fine in your life. In less than a week, sometimes less than a day, someone you love gets a cancer diagnosis or is involved in a car accident or some other tragedy occurs. And you wonder, “How can life be so good and then become so bad?”

Even when your life changes that fast, God is there; celebrating the beautiful days and carrying you through the ugly ones as you make a life.

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"Are you protected?"

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I am so blessed to have lots of windows in my office. One set of windows looks out on a mountain range. The other set looks up the mountain where we live. So I get a real panoramic view.

Recently as it snowed, I looked out the southeast windows, up the mountain on which we live. I noticed something as it gently and quietly snowed. Though there were no leaves on the trees yet, the bare branches protected the ground from the snowfall. As the snow first fell, none of it touched the ground under the bare-branch canopy of the trees.

Now who would have imagined that a bare branch could do that? With no leaves on it, who would have thought that branch would prevent the snowfall from blanketing the ground underneath it?

Sometimes in life, you may not think that God can protect you from the world’s cold falling on you. That God is like a bare branch. When you feel like you’re alone in the cold, remember that God’s warmth insulates you from the world’s cold, blanketing you with unconditional love.

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"What kind of foolish assumptions do you make?"

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We make foolish assumptions every day, don’t we?

We assume lots of people die in plane crashes every year, but actually more people are killed by donkeys every year. We assume money is made out of paper, right? Nope, it’s made out of cotton. And we assume a “jiffy” is just an expression, but it’s an actual unit of time for 1/100th of a second. It takes longer to say “jiffy” than it actually is. We assume an ostrich has a decent-sized brain, but actually the eye of an ostrich is bigger than its brain. No wonder it lays its head on the sand. And we assume the saying, “The good Lord willing and the creek don’t rise” has something to do with a stream of water, but it really is a western pioneer reference to the Creek Native Americans.

Another foolish assumption you might make is that you have to be perfect for God to love you. But God loves you no matter how many mistakes you make each day.

So be foolish today, but remember—God loves you regardless.

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"Do you assume everyone is like you?"

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When this big snowfall happened, and the power went out, and the trees fell, and I’m cleaning them up with some God-sent help, my wife measured how much snow fell. She measured several different places for an average of ten inches.

I talk with friends in the area that day and of course, the snow comes up and we start comparing amounts. I discover that no one else I spoke with had as much as ten inches. In fact, within less than five miles from our farm, they received only about six inches. That’s a pretty drastic variation in snowfall in a pretty small area!

I wondered, “How could there be such a big difference?” That’s when I listened to my life and realized that just because I had ten inches of snow, I assumed everyone else around must have the same amount, be in an identical situation.

How often do you assume everyone is like you and holds the same opinion or thinks the same way or feels identical to you? God created each of us unique, yet there are about 6.5 billion of us. Don’t assume everyone is like you. Celebrate the differences as you make a life, not just a living today.

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"Got help?"

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So all of this snow falls that I don’t believe in which covers our farm and the power goes out, but we find a higher power source and then trees fall because they’re weak from what’s eating them and I’m cutting them up with my chainsaw.

I cut a branch, then have to pull it out of the way, and put it in a pile. It’s not that the work was all that strenuous, but just time-consuming. My wife had gone to the vet about one of our dogs. Well, when she returned, she asked, “Do you want me to come out and help you?”

“That would be great!” I said.

So she did which freed me up to just cut the branches. She pulled them out of the way and put them in the pile. That may sound like a little thing, but it helped the work go a lot faster and I was less tired when we finished.

The next time you face a big job that is time-consuming and tiring, remember to ask for help from God. Life is a lot more fun and pleasant and less tiring when you have a partner to share the load, freeing you to make a life, not just a living.

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