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Always expect the best
Minister Sharon McRann
South Peace News
“Always expect the best and you’ll see that the outcome is spontaneously contained in the expectation.” – Deepak Chopra.
Always expect the best ... you deserve nothing less!
We have now lived in High Prairie for nine years - three of those years were due to the fact that I was settled here to do ministry in the United Church. The past six years have been by choice. We’ve chosen to stay because we’ve come to love the country, the people and this busy little town.
Where some see a town of despair with many difficulties, we see a town that’s thriving and alive. We see a town that struggles with many of the same concerns that every town and city has to deal with. Drugs, alcohol, poverty, mental illness, family disputes, illness and sorrow are issues that arise in all localities.
But High Prairie is much more than these. High Prairie is a town that has huge opportunities for children and youth to grow and become the best they can be. Each week we see evidence of this in the South Peace News. We see children taking part in concerts, plays, dancing, sports, and at a young age, expressing their opinions on certain things. They’re learning that their opinion matters.
We see youth winning medals and trophies for their innovative and creative ideas.
We see them going overseas on exchange programs and educational trips. The opportunities seem to be endless.
The people of High Prairie also take a huge interest in assuring that their town is appealing to the eye. They appreciate the beauty of God’s earth and strive to take care of it through clean-up and the planting of flowers to beautify the area.
In the winter, High Prairie’s spectacular light display has served to gladden the hearts of many people. All of this shows that the residents of High Prairie take pride in their town.
Of course, pride alone does not make a town a good place to live, however caring and compassion do. It’s that caring that sometimes amazes me.
Think about and applaud all of the volunteers who are in this town. Volunteers care for and entertain the elderly. Volunteers work in the hospital, the nursing home and lodge. Volunteers work at the school, in our churches and behind the scenes for the town, the school, the hospital and other areas where work needs to be done. Volunteers raise money and awareness for charities that provide assistance to children, seniors, the disabled, the ill and those who live in poverty and distress.
Wherever and whenever there is a need the residents of High Prairie give 101 per cent. Think about the food bank drive at Christmas and the help that is given to those who have lost their homes to fire and other disasters, not to mention other innovative ways of raising money. Look at how quickly the swimming pool and the Buchanan Sports Centre were built.
Having said all that, I have to ask myself, “Where do we see God in this town?”
Is God to be found in the fund-raising, the volunteering, the beautifying, and the raising up of children?
The answer is, “Yes, God is definitely there!”
But my question is, “Do we recognize and acknowledge God’s presence and do we thank God for a1l that God has done in and through these volunteers, teachers, caregivers, town councillors, firefighters, RCMP, reporters, ministers, and dedicated citizens.
We have many amazing, wise, determined and spirited elderly in this community. I am especially grateful for all of these wonderful people.
This reading from Isaiah 46:4 speaks to them, but also to the rest of us. It says, “...even to your old age I am He, even when you turn gray I will carry you. I have made and I will bear; I will carry and will save.”
A Jewish proverb explains, “Whoever walks toward God one cubit, God runs toward him twain.”
Let us remember God in all we do and remember to thank God for God’s love, assistance, guidance and grace.
“Then shall the young women rejoice in the dance, and the young men and the old shall be merry. I will turn their mourning into joy; I will comfort them and give them gladness for sorrow.” (Jeremiah 31:13)
For while today may not be the most joyous of days, we find comfort in knowing that this day and this town are firmly held in God’s re-creating hand and thus we can expect the best.
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