The Return of the Snowbirds

Since the weather up North has turned cold and snowy, the winter Texans are finding their way here to the park. Some of our neighbors have arrived, and some are due in this week. I always like to see the folks return, but still do enjoy the peace and quiet of the summer months (but not the heat).

This has been a rather quiet week other than greeting our winter friends. The food distribution is amazing – the Lord blessed us with an overflowing supply for the colonies. The weather was cool on Friday as we picked u the food and drove to the colonias where the ladies were all bundled up, waiting for us. We received wonderful beautiful fruit (fresh limes, blueberries and bananas), and vegetables. (lots of different kinds of peppers, cucumbers, regular and cherry tomatoes, as well as tortillas, bread, donuts, pinto beans, and prepackaged meals. I love to watch the ladies as they laugh and chat away, diligently doing their part of the process of packing food boxes. It is like an assembly line – each lady taking her part in assembling the food boxes. We also had boxes of clothing that were put out – whoops – that is the end of packing boxes for a while, as the ladies began going through the donated clothes for themselves and their family. It is a fun time, as they discover sparkly blouses and skirts, hold them up to themselves, giggle, and pass them in to anther lady who they think will want them. We have to remind them to get back to packing boxes. I guess the remedy would be to not bring out the clothes until the boxes were packed, but folks are already arriving by then. It is such a pleasure to see the ladies “shopping” though, so we allow them the first pick. God has so blessed us to allow us to serve these loving people.

Chaplain conferences and board meetings are over, and now it is back to work also for the new and alumni chaplains as they return to their parks for the season -some to the same park, others to new parks, or as a new chaplain in an already established CRM park. It will take a bit for them to get settled in, but by the next chaplain meeting, they will be back to norm (if there is such a thing!). We do miss being assistant chaplains here at the park, as Sunday mornings were so special to us, but the current minister seems to be doing a good job. As it is written in Ecclesiastes 3:1 - “To everything there is a season, a time for every purpose under heaven”. I think of this often as we prepare to make a change in our lives – returning to Arkansas to serve there. The Lord has truly placed it on our hearts that this is where He wants us, so we answer His call. Change is coming for all of us, some may be good, some not so good. Most change is just new and different. Invest your hope and faith in that which will never change, “For I m the Lord, I change not, Malachi 3:6.

Church this morning also reflected the return of the Winter Texans, as “our” side of the church (are we all not creatures of habit?), held more than 4 people. The pop verse was not familiar to me – at least not as familiar as the previous ones. Ephesians 2: 8-10 talks about God’s grace, by which we have been saved. This is the core of Cristian faith. Just what is grace?? Some definitions are, kindness, favor, and mercifulness.  The Biblical meaning of grace is the freely given, unmerited favor and love of God. It does not matter if you have only made a few mistakes or if you are having continuous regrets, you can find grace and peace in God. He took away the punishment and guilt that we feel and replaced it with love. The kind of love that is eternal and won't be taken away if you mess up again. You will always be able to run back to him. Grace is returning a lost item and receiving a huge reward for it. You did not expect anything in return for doing your Christian duty, but someone granted you grace in the form of a material reward. But what about the grace you cannot see? Forgiveness and grace go hand in hand. You said something about a friend that was unkind and your friend heard about it. Rather than confront you, the friend decides to ignore it, forgive you, and treat you just as before. (Is this not the same as justification – just as if you have never sinned). It was the freely giving of love and favor in their eyes

We ask for prayers for the family of  Lory Maier, a neighbor and friend here in the park. We learned last week that she had pancreatic cancer, and she passed away last night. She and her husband were involved in the same ministry at Border Missions as we were a few years ago, and went on to establish a ministry through a church.