He Makes All Things Good

 

God makes all things good for those who trust in Him.

This past week was one of good news --- to counter the bad.  I and others have said that there is a good reason for the bad things which God permits to happen, or “God makes good out of the bad,” so we must trust in Him at all times.  W don’t always see that good, but this week I did, and so I thought I’d document some of God’s blessings.

Last year, due to the Covid shutdowns, I had no garden.  This year, I went to the nursery for plants and planted as usual.  Unlike some recent years, however, my garden now appears robust this year.  Tomato plants are tall and full of buds, and all the vine plants are climbing.  And yesterday I picked and then froze 5 quarts of large green beans --- the first picking.  I expect one or two more.  Two years of mulch on the ground, tilled in, made this year’s garden strong (all the rains helped, too, I’m sure).  I had new fencing put around the garden to protect it from hungry critters.  Having no garden last year made me sad, but this year is a joy that I just didn’t dwell on last year.  My trust was weak.

This past week my lawn man was trimming a small dead twig off a tree in my backyard, when suddenly the huge branch it was attached to came crashing down, narrowly missing him.  Further inspection showed that the tree had rot in a number of areas, and could be subject to falling in a windstorm.  Thirty foot high, the tree stands only 15 feet from my house.  And so, with much care, the tree was cut down by my lawn guy and a neighbor, who took the logs for his fireplace.  There remains a stump to cut down and dug out at some point, but a disaster was avoided.  Losing the tree after 40 years is bad news, but if it had fallen on the house, it would have been much worse.  I’m not sure what I’ll do about that spot; it’s an opportunity God gave me to show more of His blessings, perhaps with flowers, or maybe a statue of Mary.

Also, this past week, I was stopped by a police car.  My first ticket in 30 years!  The truck in front of me had paused at a stop sign and then quickly accelerated into a right turn, as if there were only a narrow gap in traffic.  So, I was also intent on getting into any gap in cross traffic, and so as I reached the stop sign, I glanced to the left as I was beginning to accelerate --- and was surprised to see no oncoming traffic.  And then looking ahead where I was going, I saw the police car on the shoulder as I passed it.  It didn’t remain on the shoulder, but quickly lit up and I pulled over.  “You didn’t come to a complete stop at the stop sign,” the officer said.  I had an inkling to justify myself by the actions of the truck in front of me, and ask why he wasn’t pulled over, but I kept quiet.  “Driver’s license, registration, and proof of insurance, please” he said.  In passing I mentioned “I was just coming home from church.”  As I began getting the papers out of my wallet and glove box, I began to mumble to myself: “First ticket in 30 years.  It’s just the way this week is going.  I injured my hand, then my foot was diagnosed with some disease.  It’s just been a bad week.”  I really wasn’t talking to the cop, yet he said: “I won’t write you a ticket.”  I was too shocked to say thank you!  In my glove box, however, there were lots of older papers, but no current proof of insurance card.  This time I did speak to the cop: “I don’t understand; everything they mail me I put in the glove box without thinking, and I know I have insurance because I see the billing each month.”  I toss the cards in the glove box without thinking also, he said, and he went back to his car.  He came back and said: “Yes, you have insurance,” as he handed me my other papers. “Have a good day --- and come to complete stops at stop signs.”  And then I DID say: “Thank you, officer.  God bless your day.”  And driving home I realized that was 2 tickets I could have/should have gotten.  And I said “Thank you, Lord.”  All the bad things of my life were on my mind this week, but He showed me that He also makes good things happen.  We just need to trust.

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I  am supposed to visit a friend this afternoon.  She is in the final stages of cancer.  We plan a day at a time, and she takes extra pain pills, and then we talk and pray for a couple of hours, before she says “I think it’s time for you go.”  She is living her pain willingly --- she skipped any chemo treatments --- but she doesn’t want me to see her when the pain is worst.  She was the one I took to the adoration chapel a few weeks ago, and who cried greatly afterward, saying: “I can’t believe how much He loves us.”

She just called me and cancelled our meeting today.  “Tom, don’t come over.  I’ve called my son,” she said weakly and in obvious pain.  “I’ll try to call you later.”

He makes all things good for those who trust in Him.  She trusts in Him so much, perhaps more than anyone I know.  The good things I wrote of earlier were reminders to trust.  So is this woman’s faith.