Bliss and trials

I should have updated this thing a long time ago. I have been in Maine for the summer, now i am back in Chicago. The time I spent back home was amazing, I lived and worked with a guy from New Hope Baptist Church whom we all lovingly call Gump. I learned a lot working for him and grew a lot spiritually living with him.
During the weekends (most of them anyway) I stayed with my surrogate family, the Bridges, at Rome Farms. That was a blast too. So much happened over there in what seems like so little time.
I was able to preach about God's rest for his people during the last Wednesday service I was at in Maine. I thought I was boring, others were polite about it and told me that I wasn't boring, just the preaching was boring. (thats a joke for those not saavy to my lame sense of humor). Really though, I think it went well.

So here is a story of why we can rest in God's sovereignty:
Late in July, the last day of the month in fact, I received a call from my old roommate Hector. Hector was engaged to be married on the 18th of August and was looking for an apartment for him and his Bride-to-be to move into once they were married. He informed me that he had moved all of his and my belongings into storage and was looking for an apartment for them. Eventually he found one and started moving their things in the new place. skip to August 16, the Day I was to fly from Maine to Chicago. Hector calls me again, "Whats going on with you man?" he asks, to which I proudly state, "Oh, same ol' same ol', picnicking on the coast, overlooking a beautiful lighthouse and watching the wave crash against the cliffs," because I was. So Hector says, "Wow, that sound wonderful." "Oh it is, so what up with you," I reply. "My new apartment and everything in it burned down this morning."
If you weren't following the story, I had just described my bliss to a guy who lost all he had two days before he was to be married. I felt sick, I wanted to say,"Oh well, actually I have my head deep in a pile of fresh cow manure while being shot at by an old man in a rocking chair."

Nothing seemed to go the way it was supposed to go for the wedding, I showed up with no clothes to wear because the airline lost my bags (I was a Groomsman) and another Groomsman didn't even show up. Most of the family on both sides couldn't make it to the wedding, and only a couple dozen people showed up. The Church van which was supposed to pick up a group of people for the wedding got a flat tire and ended up being late. Through the whole ordeal Hector and Nancy hardly noticed anything wrong, God provided a suit for me to wear, alternate transportation for the group coming in the van, the lost groomsman show up at the reception, and everything seemed to go well. Hector and Nancy certainly rested in the fact that they knew that getting married was God's will, and they knew he would provide what they needed. I have my own story about coming back to Chicago, which has a little to do with the burned apartment, but I would like that to be the next post.
Pray for Hector and Nancy as they are still looking for a good apartment, I'm sure that they would love to move out of Hector's step mom's House.