More from Robert Boertien

A New Season Abundant in Blessings

The daily temperatures are cooling, daylight hours are fewer, and the leaves are changing color in my mountain community, but as the seasons change so do my thoughts. Fall is lovely, but as a volunteer meals-on-wheels driver for the last 20 years, I am reminded that the approaching winter will present new challenges for our meal recipients as they struggle with higher heating costs and face more difficulty in leaving their homes for medical appointments or shopping trips during inclement weather. However, I find many reasons for optimism and thankfulness, as I know the Lord will provide those in need with basic provisions. I have found time and again that this grace is usually provided through the kindness of others.

The elderly woman mentioned in my devotional is still living alone in her isolated home at age 96, and she is able to do so through the grace of God and the assistance of others who knowingly or unknowingly are doing the Lord’s work. Besides partaking in a privately funded energy assistance program (which

supplements the cost of firewood and her electrical bill), she also benefits from the kindness of a local woodcutter who prioritizes delivery over payment. He even includes unexpected extra services such as splitting and stacking the wood. I, along with other community members, assist her with basic grocery shopping, and I'm thankful we have been blessed with the resources to do so.

Of course, she is only one of several dozen individuals receiving meal delivery and other services in our community, and it is gratifying to see how our Lord meets each person where they are in life with blessings and assistance sufficient to meet their needs. Thanks be to God.