Come to me, all who labour and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. — Matthew 11:28

In reading this I am reminded that life is full of highs and lows, of joy and sadness, and of hellos and goodbyes. I can think quickly of some of my moments of joy – high points in my life over the last few years – mainly my marriage to a wonderful godly man and the birth of my two small boys. Of course, other highs include seeing God work low points or moments of sadness into blessing.

In 2005 my new husband and I found out that the Pfizer site in Kalamazoo, Michigan was closing their R&D site. Six months into our marriage we were faced with the reality that we were going to have to relocate and leave the town we loved. God opened an amazing opportunity for us to work overseas in Sandwich, England and we started our second year of marriage together in a new home far from family and friends. As you can imagine, the last five years have been full of highs and lows. We have come to love our new home and have grown closer in our relationship with one another and with God. God turned much sadness into many joys. When we left Kalamazoo we had many goodbyes, but here in Deal/Sandwich many of our hellos have turned into lifetime friends.

Once again, February 2011, we are faced with news that the R&D site in Sandwich is closing and once again we are faced with another low time, the possibilities of more goodbyes and much sadness… Yet, we know that out of the burdens of life that make us weary, God will give us rest. Our future is once again unknown: maybe it will bring sadness and goodbyes… yet we also believe it will once again bring joy and more lifetime hellos!

Prayer: Father, I pray we remember that it is You who knows our future and that we can trust You to give us much-needed rest when we feel weary or burdened with things in life that are our out of our control. Amen