It could happen any time, tornado,
earthquake, Armageddon. It could happen.
Or sunshine, love, salvation.
It could, you know. That’s why we wake
and look out––no guarantees
in this life.
But some bonuses, like morning,
like right now, like noon,
like evening.
~William Stafford “Yes” from The Way It Is: New and Selected Poems
“Supposing a tree fell down, Pooh, when we were underneath it?”
“Supposing it didn’t,” said Pooh after careful thought.
Piglet was comforted by this.
~A.A. Milne from The Complete Tales of Winnie-the-Pooh
Of course, there are no guarantees about how a particular day is going to go — no matter how selfless we are, how devout our practices, how righteous we appear in others’ eyes.
A natural disaster can still happen, an illness gets worse, the unexpected bad stuff still happens because there is no extended service warranty on how things are supposed to go.
What is guaranteed is our vision of God’s glory as portrayed through His infinite sacrifice, His infinite worth, His infinite value, His infinite presence and transcendence. We glorify him through our enjoyment of Him — right now, right here — celebrating the bonus of another morning, another noon, another evening. It is bonus, and not anything we are owed.
What is my only comfort in life and in death?
That I am not my own, but belong
—body and soul, in life and in death—
to my faithful Savior, Jesus Christ.
Heidelberg Catechism Question and Answer 1
“Supposing it didn’t” — says our Lord
(and we are comforted by this)
but even if it did …
even if it did –
as awful things sometimes do –
we are never abandoned.
He is with us always and guaranteed glorious.
Unlimited warranty.
We who long to be cherished…are.
The God who made you adores and desires you deeply. His words to Jesus, “This is my beloved Son, whom I love; with Him I am well pleased” (Matthew 3:17), are also directed toward you as you rest by faith in Christ.
And guess what? Even when you feel that this is all too good to be true…
…it still is.
~Scott Sauls from “Covenant, Restoration, Joy“
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Barnstorming 
Very comforting. We just went through Hurricane Beryl here in Houston. It was a mess, and I have been through three other major hurricanes plus several smaller ones here in my 62 years. Sadly, so many killed by falling trees.
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Oh my, that sounds horrific! We didn’t get much news about Beryl up here. “Tree falling” is not just a worry in a hurricane but a terrible reality.
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