GOOD

The fair ended for us yesterday when we packed up, said goodbye to our lambs, and headed home.  I make that sound so easy. It is quite a task because of all of the junk we carry up there.  It was such a good week.  We had good weather, good food, and a good time. 

If I was asked to write a “Top 10 World’s Greatest Fair List” my #1 would be the time I get to spend with people.  It is a family affair with cousins, parents, and everyone involved.   My “golden” friends usually keep tradition in check and gather up at the Emmons camp. We swing and catch up.  We have been swinging there as long as I can remember.  We laughed this year about the old days when we all slept on the floor.  There were sleeping bags and girls lined up tight.  Oh, the good old days of show boxes, show sticks, and scooping poop.  They really were good!

My second favorite thing about the fair is sitting back and watching all of the action.  The fair is work.  In the work, you see the best things.  Brothers and sisters tote water buckets for each other.  Friends hold gates and work animals late night in the show arena together. Parents assist at the wash rack.  (I only got one intentional squirt my way this year.  That was pretty good!)   Committee members work and sweat through all of the details of the week. Something good comes from all of the work for sure.  I love watching it.

One morning I was a little tired and needed to not be even the slightest tired at all. I got a text from my dear friend with a verse.   It said “Give thanks to the Lord, for he is good; his love endures forever.”   Psalm 107:1.  I read it out loud over and over. It is actually a verse that I know by memory.  I said it enough that it was stuck in my head. 

It was my good thought of the day, and everywhere I looked, I saw the goodness of the Lord. When the clouds kept us cool, I thanked the Lord for the goodness.  When my son learned a lesson with his lamb, I thanked the Lord for his goodness.

The fair is just so much good that you hate for it to end.  There is a saying though, all good things come to an end.  It is true!  However, there is an exception.  I learned it today during the children’s message at FBC.  Miss Laura brought an empty jug of milk.  She talked about how it had an expiration date and about how most things expire and get old. 

I know the message was for the kids, but it hit home with me.  I started thinking about how the goodness of the Lord does not expire.  IT will never run out, spoil, or change at all. It is a constant.  No matter what I do, how I do it, and how many times, His love for me will not expire.  Wow!  The fair might have been good, but that is really good!

This week, focus on the goodness of Jesus Christ and remember that it has no expiration date.  His love endures forever.  That is some good stuff that we all need to hear. Do not just hear it though, believe it and live differently because of it.