Cherish the GEM of the promised Comforter (Christian Science) to help solve world problems!
insights from Cobbey Crisler and others from the Christian Science Quarterly Bible Lesson on
“Christian Science”
for June 21-27, 2021
shared by Warren Huff
CedarS Executive Director Emeritus warren@cedarscamps.org
SEE LOVINGKINDNESS DRAWING ALL MANKIND to God for SOLUTIONS to WORLD PROBLEMS!
Cobbey Crisler on Jeremiah 31 (Responsive Reading, Jer. 31:33, 34)
[Cobbey:] “In Chapter 31, which is Jeremiah’s greatest chapter, he predicts the new covenant will come. He defines it. In Verse 3 he shows that the new covenant is definitely based on the comprehension of God as love. It’s that very “lovingkindness” that will draw all mankind to God for the solution of the world problems.”— [to make “their soul (spiritual sense) as a watered garden.” (Jer. 31:12)
Jeremiah 31:33, 34 “… this shall be the covenant that I make… I will put my law in their inward parts, and write it in their hearts… for they shall all know me, from the least of them to the greatest…” (Responsive Reading)
“Heal the Sick”: A Scriptural Record, by B. Cobbey Crisler**
EXPECT EVERY ILL to be CURED by GOD’S ORDERED GOVERNMENT of HARMONY AT HAND!
Cobbey Crisler on Matthew 4:23 (B2):
Verse 23. And “healing all manner of sickness and all manner of disease.” Here are human problems that had defied solution, and Jesus solved them all based on his concept of theology, namely the kingdom. Remember a kingdom is not chaos. It’s an ordered government of heaven and harmony at hand.”
“Book of Matthew, Auditing the Master, A Tax Collector’s Report,” by B. Cobbey Crisler**
“LOVE INTO VIEW” YOUR DEFENSE ATTORNEY / COMFORTER – AND EVEN GREATER WORKS!
Cobbey Crisler on John 14:12-17, 26 (citations B4 and B11)
[Cobbey:] In John 14:12 Jesus makes a prophesy. He makes a prophesy in impersonal terms…
“There are greater works, the ultimatum of the application of what Jesus had introduced to earth. So, when he’s talking about greater works being done, through what agency will these greater works come? We find the Comforter is introduced.
John 14:16, “And I will pray the Father, and he shall give you another Comforter.”
We should know enough about prophesy and have enough respect to realize that most of the prophets in the Bible, including Jesus, had a tremendous regard for prophesy. They knew that it had come from God, not from man. Similarly, we should know how to recognize the Comforter when the Comforter arrives…
The word “comforter” is parakletos, sometimes called paraclete… translated “comforter” given by our King James Version. You will find, however, that The New English Bible does not use “comforter.” It uses “advocate.” You’ll also find that I John uses parakletos and the King James translator of that uses “advocate.”
We should know that the word “advocate” is a technical word legally. It specifically means “defense attorney.” That has a lot of implications to it. By contrast the name “Satan” in Hebrew is a technical term for “prosecuting attorney.” There you have the battle joined in thought.
The Comforter is to come and defend man. We can see all the ways that Jesus had introduced various defenses for man…
John 14:16, “that he may abide with you for ever.” Is there a provision for a third revelation? The Comforter is apparently the final one.
John 14:17, “the Spirit of Truth.” Notice how that counters Jesus’ definition of the “devil.” What did he say about the truth? It was the recipe for freedom (John 3:8). So, it’s got something to do with that. But there is also a communications problem. The world “cannot receive.” It’s not going to be a popular arrival. “It doesn’t see him or know him.”
But, we will know, “because it’s within.”
John 14:26 picks up the description. “The Comforter, which is the Holy Ghost.” There’s another part of the list, identified with the Holy Ghost in Luke 3:22, the dove descending is the symbol of it. The words “dove” and “ghost” are feminine in the Greek, and the comfort aspect also introduces the feminine concept.
The role of the Comforter “will be sent by God in my name.” If one were to regard that literally, the Comforter’s name should at least have some recognizable aspect either relating to Jesus or to Christ. Another aspect of the Comforter is “he will teach you all things.”
The role of teaching what? Is anything left out? “All things.” And at the same time, “it will bring everything back to human memory that Jesus said.”
“Book of John: A Walk with the Beloved Disciple”, by B. Cobbey Crisler**
Let’s welcome the Comforter in our time where there’s “Plenty of room for ‘greater works’… collective demonstrations…in governments… nations… that all could benefit from …the touch of the Comforter… ministries of divine Love.”
Christine Irby Williams on “greater works…” (John 14:12-16) (from a 12-29-13 Met)
“Jesus said… Verily, verily, I say unto you, He that believeth on me, the works that I do shall he do also; and greater works than these shall he do; because I go unto my Father…” (cit. B17, John 14:12)
Christine Irby Williams nicely tackled the tough question of what works could possibly be greater than what Jesus did in a wonderful precamp inspirational talk to CedarS staff this May (2013) as well as in part of an inspirational address for the Christian Science Nurses conference at CedarS this September (2013). [CedarS was delighted to again host over 120 CS Nurses from all over the world during the first week of September 2019.]
In 2013 Christine said, in part: “Have you ever wondered what in the world Jesus meant by “greater works”? It does sound a little daunting. We read almost every week in the Bible Lesson something such as Jesus “went about…healing ALL manner of sickness and ALL manner of disease among the people.” (Matthew 4:23/cit. B2) He fed 5,000 men plus women and children with what had appeared to everyone else as a few loaves and fishes. He walked on water and suspended time and space. He raised to life a child who appeared to have just passed away, a young man who was on his way to be buried, and Lazarus, who had been in the grave four days already. And then, of course, he raised himself after the crucifixion, and he ascended. So, what could possibly be greater than any, much less all, of that? I’ve often wondered, and I’m still pondering his promise…
“There has been one particular area in which it’s likely that we’ve all been aware that there is plenty of room for “greater works,” and that is working together, or what might be called collective demonstration: in families, church work, any kind of organizational work—in a church context or otherwise, in neighborhoods, in governments of all sizes, in nations, among the people, and in the world at large. Would you agree with me that these are areas that could benefit from the light of Truth, the touch of the Comforter—the healing and saving ministries of divine Love? Might we be so bold as to think about tackling the environment? World peace? World hunger? If not, why not? If so, let’s get on with it! Let us “then up and be doing,” as our Hymn [#18] says!” [Christine shared more inspiration on this and other topics at the 2012 Fern Lodge Annual Meeting.]
First posted in Warren’s Met on “Christian Science” for 12-29-13
TAKE FOR YOURSELF the ANGEL’S MESSAGE to JESUS and JOHN on the ISLAND of PATMOS
Cobbey Crisler on Revelation 1:1 (cit. B5) – and cit. B6/Revelation 10:1, 2, 9, 11 that follows
[Cobbey:] “In the first verse of the first chapter of Revelation let us consider again the phrase “The Revelation of Jesus Christ.” This is as close to the original title of the book that we will ever be. It is not John’s revelation, despite the heading that appears in the King James’ translation. In fact, the earliest form of any title of the Apocalypse, apart from its opening sentence, is dated in the second century, and reads “The Revelation to Saint John the Divine,” not “of”. It is originally not even Jesus’ revelation because the next few words tell us that God gave it to him. The message comes through Jesus who “sent and signified [it] by his angel unto his servant John.”
“No other book of the Bible carries with it such dramatic credentials: God to Jesus, to John, to God’s receptive servants in general. The authenticity of this imposing claim, of course, has been widely challenged by scholars and lay readers alike. Should it not be true, however, it would impeach the credibility of the entire work. If it is true, it would rank at the top of the list of Scriptural books for Christian believers. It makes the meeting between Jesus and John-on-Patmos neither fortuitous nor imaginary, but a divine appointment arranged long in advance…
“The human mind finds it difficult to conceive of divine appointment except in terms of earthly politics. Jesus had to respond to Peter [in Verse 22], “If I will that he tarry till I come, what [is that] to thee?” With these words, “tarry till I come,” Jesus fixed a prophetic appointment with his beloved disciple. The Bible doesn’t close before we are told of John and Jesus meeting on Patmos [in Revelation1:1].”
“Apocryphal Pictures,” by B. Cobbey Crisler**
TAKE THE ANGEL’S GIFT OF A LITTLE BOOK WITH UNIVERSAL APPLICATIONS and USE IT! Cobbey Crisler on Rev. 10:1-11, cit. B6
[Cobbey:] “The Tenth Chapter of Revelation … verse 1, records another mighty angel coming down from heaven. Heaven, the divine and infinite, databank, from which this angel now bares God’s revealed Word. Is this another opportunity for space for repentance, now in the form of a little book, opened?
“…The angel in Revelation, Chapter 10, is clothed with a cloud. In John’s vision, the message is initially obscure. A later textual implication hints that John could not take the full light of this message at first. He needed to adapt to it gradually.
“The message is mighty. The angel standing behind every word of this little book links every concept in it to God. The angel’s face were as if it were the sun. This combination of sun and cloud may explain the rainbow upon his head. A rainbow results when light penetrates a cloud or mist. Are the conditions finally here for the mist of Genesis 2 to be lifted? Will the rays shining through the lens of this angel’s book ultimately penetrate and evaporate the obscuring cloud? Even though the full white light of this vision does not yet appear to John, he does see through the cloud which, like a prism, shows the iridescence of God’s promise.
“This rainbow symbolism serves to remind scriptural students of its earliest recorded use in the Bible — the bow seen in the cloud after Noah emerged from the Ark… The bow we are told represents the promise that no flood would gather such proportions again to destroy all flesh. Reappearance of this timely rainbow in Revelation then, is like an implicit forewarning of a second major flood. This one, two chapters later, at Revelation 12.
The deluge is from the dragon’s mouth, and it’s directed against the woman, mother of the man child, to sweep her away. … No serious student of prophesy then is surprised when Revelation 12:16 reports “And the earth helped the woman, and the earth opened her mouth, and swallowed up the flood which the dragon cast out of his mouth.” (Rev 12:16)
Thus, the rainbow promise was fulfilled.
Let us turn now to Revelation, Chapter 10, verses 1 and 2.
(Rev. 10:1,2)
1 And I saw another mighty angel come down from heaven, clothed with a cloud: and a rainbow was upon his head, and his face was as it were the sun, and his feet as pillars of fire:
2 And he had in his hand a little book open: and he set his right foot upon the sea, and his left foot on the earth,
“Note there that the angel sets his feet as pillars of fire, upon the sea and on the earth. These happen to be the primary and the secondary sources for all earthly life. Is the fire meant to consume these fundamentally held opinions about the evolutionary origin of man?
“John the Baptist tells us through Matthew’s text (3:12) that Jesus’ mission would inaugurate on earth a baptism with the Holy Ghost and with fire. In the threshing imagery used, the Holy Ghost separates out the wheat; the unquenchable fire burns up the chaff. Since the Holy Ghost is so vividly identified with these effects, is it also to be identified with the focal Apocalyptic picture in Chapter 10:2 – namely the little book? …
“Jesus had told his disciples that the father would give another comforter, and he referred to this comforter as the Holy Ghost. Whatever the thought content of this little book, it has a major and exalted destiny just to measure up to the prominence of its Apocalyptic picture. What does this book have to say that will dissolve with fire the old and make way for the radically new? We know this is God’s purpose in Book of Revelation, for in next-to-last Chapter, Rev 21, verse 5, “He that sat upon the throne said, Behold, I make all things new.”
“Such a summary achievement allows for no exception, even traditional concepts concerning sea and earth must be consumed. Although long presumed to hold the secrets of the origin of life, they are doomed to diminish as a basis, as the little book takes effect.
“The Holy Ghost and fire represent God’s ultimate yes and no on every topic. The wheat remains; that is God’s “yes.” The chaff must be burned up either through the flames of self-destruction, of through the refining baptism of God’s Word; that is God’s “no.”
“John makes the right decision and sees ultimately a new earth and no more sea. What scriptural lessons in these Apocalyptic pictures? We learn that we don’t have elect the plagues. The trumpets alarm should warn us away from a making that desperate choice.
“There is a scriptural way out – a new Exodus – the one Jesus discussed on the mount of transfiguration with pioneers who had ascended before him. The prerequisite for this new Exodus; however, is a new Genesis, for Jesus assures us, “No man hath ascended up to heaven but he that came down from heaven.” (John 3:13)
“Is this little book held by the angel to convey to mankind details of our heavenly Genesis. Are these details so radical that Jesus couldn’t even share them with his disciples?
“At the Last Supper he had told them “I have yet many things to say unto you, but you cannot bear the now.” (John 16:12)
“Then he added, “this would be the mission of the Comforter.”
“When he, the Spirit of Truth is come, he will guide you into all truth.” (John 16:13) He shall “teach you all things.” (John 14:26)
Does this little book’s divine data hold the key to this new Genesis and this new Exodus for the human race? Before the earlier Exodus, God had said “I send an Angel before the to keep thee in the way, and to bring thee into the place which I have prepared.” (Ex. 23:20) (Line 14:32)
This Angel is also associated with Ex 14:19 with the pillar of cloud and fire which led and defended Israel through the wilderness to the Promised Land.
“The angel of Revelation 10 is clothed in these symbols of cloud and fire. Has God sent his angel of a new Exodus before us to keep us in the way, to emancipate the race from what Shakespeare called “every ill the flesh is heir to”?
“Seven thunders try to drown out the words of the little book, just as seven seals tried to suppress the contents of the first book. This book, you may recall, is in Greek, “Biblia.” In Chapter 10, the Greek word is “Biblaridion.” (15:37) This diminutive form appearing uniquely in the tenth Chapter of Revelation connotes a book smaller than the one proclaimed by the first mighty angel.
“Is the emergence of the little book in prophesy one of the things Jesus told his disciples they could not bear now? But John tarried until Jesus came and then reported the revelation of Jesus Christ, including all he had to say about the coming of this little book.
“This is a watershed chapter in the Book of Revelation, for with the coming of the Biblaridion, there is simultaneously restored a strong sense of God’s control of events on earth as in heaven. …
“Did John take the little book? No. There is always that innate human preference for a handout, and John responds with “Give me the little book.” That requires less motion on our part and more on the angel’s…
“But, to take the word is only the first of the angel’s mandates; the second is to eat it up.
Rev 10:9 And I went unto the angel, and said unto him, Give me the little book. And he said unto me, Take it, and eat it up; and it shall make thy belly bitter, but it shall be in thy mouth sweet as honey.
“The initial taste, according to Rev 10, verse 10, is as “sweet as honey.” The little book’s reasonings are sweet, apparently, and appeal to our native yearnings.
“The book obviously makes sound spiritual sense. The receptive taker finds no difficulty ingesting its message as if it were something he has always believed, but never dared to utter.
“The rub comes in Rev 10, verse 10, the bitter after affects when we try to live God’s word. A Biblical listener and church member cannot just hear it, he must do it. He must take it from his credenda and put it on his agenda. (Webster Def “Credenda: doctrines to be believed : articles of faith.)
“James writes: “…Be ye doers of the word, and not hearers only.” (James 1:22)
“John is told a second time to take the little book out of the angel’s hand. Does that phrase “out of the angel’s hand” recall its use in Chapter 8? All effectual prayer is launched out of the angel’s hand. The parallel helps us to know the contents of the little book. Its chapters are the equivalent of prayers. Why not?
“Any concept in the grasp of a mighty angel would be linked to God and His infallible results. This little book has a universal application. Not just John must take it. And in Revelation 10, verse 11 (cit. B6), John must prophesy again, not just to a peculiar people, but to many peoples, nations, tongues, and kings.”
“Apocryphal Pictures,” by B. Cobbey Crisler**
CHERISH the CHRISTLY COMPASSION to HEAL, to FEED OTHERS & to have DOMINION!
Cobbey Crisler on Matt. 14:14 (cit. B12) and beyond:
Matthew 14: “(Verse 13, before the verse in the lesson). Jesus hearing that John the Baptist had been beheaded, decides to make himself scarce, leaves into a desert place apart.
(Verse 14). “But the multitudes followed him.” Instead of saying, “Look, will you let a man be alone for once,” he turned around with compassion and healed their sick.”
Verse 15-20). And out comes the famous loaves-and-fishes incident in which everyone is fed, with a balance left over despite the fact that we’re dealing with thousands of people. …
And, right after this (Verses 24-33) we have the walking-on-the-sea incident.”
“Book of Matthew, Auditing the Master, A Tax-Collector’s Report,” by B. Cobbey Crisler**
A concomitant idea: Find in divine economics that our Shepherd’s supply is inexhaustible, because “LOVE IS, LIKE 5 LOAVES AND 2 FISHES—ALWAYS TOO LITTLE UNTIL YOU START GIVING IT AWAY!” Cobbey Crisler on Mark 6:35-44 (similar to Matthew 14:14-21 (B12)
“The only so-called miracle in all four gospels is the feeding of the “five thousand,” Verses 35-44. I put it in quotes because they were only counting the men. Out of the little boy’s lunch box comes five loaves and two fishes. We hear that from the gospel of John Chapter 6, Verse 13. They feed a multitude. Now we have a lesson on economics given to us by the Master. He didn’t regard that as a problem either. No Malthusian limitation on man that we’re going to outgrow our supply, and, therefore, we should kill off sectors of the human race in order to meet the supply. That’s Malthus and his philosophy of necessity. But we find Jesus saying instead in Matthew 14:16, “They need not depart.” Malthus says they need to be killed, but Jesus is saying, “They need not depart.”
Mark 6.37. The disciples say it would be impossible to feed the multitude, that it would take about “two hundred pennyworth.” The group was considerably more than five thousand if you count the women and the children.
What Jesus said to all the disciples made them become part of the remedy. Twelve baskets were taken around. There were twelve disciples. Each one was made to participate in the abundant result and learn from it. They started out with only five loaves and two fishes. They ended up with more fragments left over than they had when they started out. More available. That’s divine economics. It doesn’t exhaust.”
“What Mark Recorded,” by B. Cobbey Crisler**
PROVE NOTHING’S IMPOSSIBLE WHEN YOU SAY NO to EVERY LIE & YES to AFFIRM EVERY TRUTH OF THE CASE. Cobbey Crisler on Jesus healing epilepsy (Matt. 17:14-21/cit. B13) –in the Mark 9:17-29 & Luke 9:38-43 Jesus addresses the parent’s thought first):
[Cobbey:] “We have healings throughout Mark which require your study. We have an epileptic child healed in the next few verses, 17 through 29.
Verse 21. Jesus recognizes that the first patient is the father and his thinking. [“and he asked his father, how long is it ago since this came unto him? And he said, Of a child.”… ]
Verse 23. He turns and deals with the father, his parental thought. [“Jesus said unto him, If thou canst believe, all things are possible to him that believeth. 24 And straightway the father of the child cried out, and said with tears, Lord, I believe: help thou mine unbelief.”]
Verse 25-27. Jesus then deals with the young man.
Verse 29 says, “This kind of healing.” Because the disciples had failed, this healing required two things, “prayer and fasting.” You can say this in another way using two other words: “No” and “Yes” [as Mary Baker Eddy titled one of her works on scientific, mental healing.] Fasting is what we say “no” to and prayer is what we’re affirming. Once again, we see that we are given the rules of healing.”
“What Mark Recorded” by B. Cobbey Crisler**
EXPECT to demonstrate that “ALL THINGS WORK TOGETHER FOR GOOD”: Prove for yourself what Mary Baker Eddy calls “the dictum of Scripture… (that) “All things work together for good to them that love God” (Science & Health 444:4/cit. S24).
Here Mary Baker Eddy is quoting Paul in Romans 8:28. He gives us a model for the true “prayer… fervently offered (that) includes no opposing element” (Miscellany 293:21). The news is full of arguments for the existence of all kinds of evil and opposing elements these days. Most of them are based on the VIRUS of unwise atheism and its family members (according to Wikipedia) of “the supremacy of human reason… secular humanism… religious criticism…free-thought skepticism…” They all doubt Paul’s assertion that that “God is always at work for the good of everyone who loves him. They are the ones God has chosen for his purpose.” (Romans 8:28, CEB) It’s been said, “There are no atheists in foxholes.” or in Intensive Care or on Ventilators…]
Leading up to a Cobbey Crisler comment on Romans 8:28 below are helpful Bible insights on VIRUSES from Psalm 14:1-3, Mark 7:20 & II Corinthians 10:5:
“In Psalm 14, Verse 1, “The fool”— that’s the kind of point of view it is, completely unwise—“The fool that said in his heart, [There is] no God,” has a foolish point of view that exposes you to the infection of that idea. It communicates a contaminating influence if it cuts one off from the very source of life and health. Because treatment is available.
“In Verse 2 “The Lord looked down from heaven upon the children of men, to see if there were any that did understand, [and] seek God.” Notice what arena we’re dealing with here. God was not checking our pulses [or our temperatures], but our thoughts. How do we know what effect thoughts actually have ultimately on the pulse, for example? “To see if there were any that could understand and [seek] God” because that’s the bottom line.
“Instead, in Verse 3 “They are all gone aside, and become filthy.” Something that is unsanitary doesn’t belong; it’s not part of the health code of the Bible any more than it’s in the health code of material medica. Because what is unsanitary [W: is part of the unreality family and] is liable to cause or promote a disease.
“It’s also interesting to note that the word “virus” which is being used so generally today as the cause of much of man’s physical complaints and effects [W:—as well as the cause of issues from implanted computer viruses or hacks].
“The virus, according to Webster, is able to break down the defensive mechanism of the host. And, by the way, it comes from a Latin word that means poison or slimy liquid, virus. The word “filthy,” in part of its Hebrew meaning, is morally corrupt. So, we know we’re dealing really at both levels here, moral and physical. If out of that filthy condition, that polluted state of human consciousness, we’re coming to the conclusion “[there is] none that doeth good, no, not one,” has the defensive mechanism broken down? Have we become the host of ideas that are contaminating to our pure relationship to God? Or, are we ingesting only those pure Words? It’s a question of thought. It’s the faculty of knowing that which God is addressing here.
“Consider what Jesus lists in Mark 7, Verse 20, where he lists the toxic causes of man’s problems. He says, “That which comes out of the man, that defies the man.” Now we’re going the opposite route from those pure Words from God.
[Mark 7, Verse 21] “From within,” and, by the way, that is almost the literal translation of the Latin word intestin from which our word “intestine” comes. “Out of the heart of men, proceed,” and look at the list; it’s certainly not intestinal fortitude, “evil thoughts, adulteries, fornication, porneia, root of our word pornography, murders.” [Verse 22]. “Thefts,” do we need to go into the headlines as current as this morning? “covetousness, wickedness, deceit, lasciviousness, an evil eye, blasphemy, pride, foolishness.” [W: fool, as in Psalm 14.1] And Jesus says in Mark 7, Verse 23, “All these evil things come from within, and defile the man.” That’s where disease is also felt; the “within.”
[W: Instead of affirming that in God (and in reality) we have everything that we need,] We [often tend to] yearn for so much within, don’t we? How imperfectly that’s often expressed. Our longing often, perhaps most of the time, is expressed in terms that we would conquer the world outwardly in some way. Be appreciated. Be applauded. Be loved. [W: Have lots of social media “likes” or followers…] Be served. Be patted on the head. Be comforted. Have obeisance shown to us. That we have the homage of the world outwardly. We want to conquer the world in some way. That’s trying to impose domination. That kind of longing is imperfectly expressed.
“A more perfect sense of longing, the desire that Jesus calls prayer, would be to conquer all the influences of that same world inwardly. [W: “to bring EVERY thought”—NOT EVERY OTHER THOUGHT— “to the obedience of Christ.” (2 Corinthians 10:5)] Then, you’re a king. In that sense Jesus was always a king. There’s nothing wrong with that messianic attribution to him of “king.” He ruled and nothing overruled him. But, look at all these things that [would attempt to] take over our “within” where the kingdom of God is supposed to be. And instead, we find anarchy most of the time.
“What is disease? If the kingdom-of-God-within is the healed, whole state, then anarchy-within must also tell us what disease is. It’s an outright rebellion. It’s a “Declaration of Independence” by one organ over the rest of the bodily systems. The Bible endorses only one system [Romans 8.28] “All things work together for good to them that love God.” There is the prerequisite. We always have to have this prescription filled. We’ve got to love God. Then, “all things work together for good.” That’s the ideal situation for any system, bodily or solar, all things working together for good. That’s the definition of perfect health as well.”
“Leaves of the Tree: Prescriptions from Psalms,” by B. Cobbey Crisler**
RECENT EXAMPLES from Warren of when it sure didn’t look like “ALL THINGS” WERE AT “WORK TOGETHER FOR GOOD” HERE: (444:4/cit. S24 from Romans 8:28)
By 10:00a.m. on June 11th, the last Friday before CedarS June 13th 2021 Opening Day, we had what sure looked like two sudden setbacks. Either one by itself was enough to undo the sixty-day miracle of building an additional “North Star” dining room from concrete to functional completion that would allow us to meet spacing protocols between diners who would eat with their cabin/cohort without masks.
- The four roofer/carpenters who had done a great job every Monday thru Saturday, were being pulled off our job at 10am Friday so as to move needed equipment to another jobsite to start there early Monday. We were counting on them to frame and screen in final walls on the final Friday and Saturday before campers would be coming.
- At 10am I also discovered that our wonderful, night-shift electrician had pulled major electrical feeds through what was supposed to be a stairwell between the first and second floors.
I prayerfully reached out to God to show me how these seeming setbacks could possibly be seen as “work(ing) together for good.” As I listened about the first issue of the manpower that we’d counted-on to finish being missing, the idea came to call a wonderful carpenter and his crew who had been swamped with other work since they had last worked at CedarS. They just happened to be finishing one project by lunch and not starting another till Monday and so were able to come just when needed. Their skill sets were an even better fit for the work needed which they did perfectly in the available time-frame.
As to the second seeming issue of making unusable an intended stair access to the second floor, it quickly came to me that a better plan would make use of an outside, already-built and adjacent set of stairs. This improved plan leaves more room in the food service area, in a mechanical storeroom, and in the upstairs area for the Crew that replaces their T-Room that formerly occupied this space. Here’s praying that God will quickly show you that all your “mistakes” are also divine ones like these that yield an even better plan for God’s glory!
