Pastors Garage Aug 13, 2020

*Boys Caught in the Rain!*

*Pastors Garage, August 13, 2020*

So myself and Ben had a atv date with Zach and Harrison yesterday. We
decided to meet up at Zach’s at 1pm and head out from there. We planned on
putting out some deer cameras in a pasture of Dimler’s that I’ve placed
them on other years. They were forecasting a weather system moving in and
we could see the storm clouds to the west but we weren’t going terribly far
so we decided to head out anyway and head back first sign of rain. I had
placed two of the four cameras I had planned on putting out when the wind
came up and it started to spit. The third camera was to go only a short
distance from the gate so I decided to try and get it out yet. Zach and
Harrison headed for home. It was just as I hung the camera that the deluge
broke. We have a side by side with a canopy so I told Ben to hunker down by
my feet where he was pretty sheltered and we headed for home. I got
absolutely soaked to the skin, sure didn’t need that bit of hail either! We
stopped at Zach’s house to dry off and wait out the storm. Ben seemed fine,
happy and was having fun playing with Harrison. Later that evening at
supper time I was describing our day to BreAnn talking about our adventure
and the “fun” we had. Suddenly Ben became quite agitated and angry, to the
point he had to go to his room for a “timeout”. When Bre went up to work
out what was going on, after a cool off period, he told her that he didn’t
have fun in the storm and was quite scarred. I hadn’t picked up on that at
all because he seemed totally fine but I can definitely remember how scary
storms were when I was a little boy!

The other day I had a doctors appointment in the city. The only
available chair in the waiting room was between two gentlemen not wearing
masks and definitely less than six feet apart. I asked if they were worried
about me sitting there, and both replied they were fine with that. It’s
funny, I’ve stated several times to several people during the course of
this pandemic that while I realize the possibility of getting Covid is
real, I refuse to live in fear and choose to place my life in God’s hands.
I’ve even quoted the verse “to live is Christ, and to die is gain”
Philippians 1:21. Yet I will admit that while sitting between these two
gentlemen not really knowing them, their history, or why they were there, a
feeling of malaise came over me and I just started to “feel sick”! I told
myself “it’s just in your head, stop it!” My stomach even started to feel
funny till later!

A number of years ago I was attending an air show when the unthinkable
happened. Two planes collided in mid air during a maneuver instantly
killing both pilots. It was a pretty sobering thing to witness firsthand! A
couple weeks later I heard over the radio that a doctor was looking for
people who were in attendance that day to interview as he was doing a study
on Post Traumatic Stress Disorder(PTSD). While it was a pretty traumatic
thing to witness, I scoffed at the idea that it could have actually
affected me mentally! It was a week later I was at the Moosomin Lake
fireworks festival when a small home built gyroplane came flying over the
lake. If you’ve ever seen one fly they look sketchy at best. The thought
came into my mind “He’s gonna crash and die right in front of us!” My
breath got short, my palms got sweaty, and I was totally fixated on him!
Guess what, everything went fine! He just flew down the length of the lake
and out of sight! The thought crossed my mind “Hmm, maybe I should give
that doctor a call!”

The mind is a funny thing! It’s amazing what can have lasting effects
or show up later! Mental health is no joke and it can affect any one of us,
many times in ways and time frames not necessarily associated with what we
experienced! It’s not a matter of being strong or weak! I would encourage
you in the times we live in to take your mental health seriously and take
some biblical steps to bring healing and peace to your mind! I leave you
with some verses that concern the state of our minds. “You will keep Him in
perfect peace whose mind is stayed on you, because he trusts in you. Trust
in the Lord forever, for the Lord God is an everlasting rock.” Isaiah
26:3,4. “We destroy arguments and every lofty opinion raised against the
knowledge of God, and take every thought captive to obey Christ.” 2
Corinthians 10:5. “For God has not given us a spirit of fear, but of power
and of love and of a sound mind.” 2 Timothy 1:7

This week Pastor Dave is away so depending on weather I may be in the
field so there may not be a front lawn Friday. I will make a post on the
church facebook site in the morning concerning that. We will be having
“live” service at the church Sunday at 10:30, I’ll be sharing on 2 Peter 3
and what kind of people aught we to be! May the Lord bless you and keep
you! May the Lord make his face shine on you and be gracious to you! May
the Lord turn His face toward you and give you peace!

Pastor Mike