I realized it is not too late for the year of rest!

by Viola Penner
(Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada)

I only came across your web site and blog today, nearly the end of 2010;

I've had a difficult year, and was searching for inspiration on the internet. I often gravitate to videos or photos of Audrey Hepburn, who I discovered 25 years ago when I was a newly wed, and I wanted someone to emulate.

Well, there was your link, and I couldn't stop reading. I did, however, as I had appointments to keep, but as soon as I came back home, I clicked onto the link for the message from Pastor Prince, who spoke about the year of rest.

I thought about how I'd wished I'd heard his message last year when it was first broadcast: perhaps my attitude towards the events of last year would have been different, or my attitude would have prevented some of the events from even occurring, but that's not even logical, because what happened is what happened, in precisely the order in which they did.

...so now I've heard the message in time for the New Year of 2011. In a strange way, this past year has been a year of rest--I lost not one, but two jobs, and have been scrambling between odd jobs to keep up with life's responsibilities: caring for my family and keeping my faith.

This message came at a time when I had lost faith, and in fact decided that after 51 years of believing in God, I could no longer believe.

I didn't feel peaceful about that decision, and not because believing may have simply been a 'habit of thought', as some non believers would have me think.

I choose to believe that this message didn't come to too late, and just as the pastor said in his opening remarks: it doesn't matter when you hear the message; the message is from the Holy Spirit.

Aside from this welcome intervention, I want you to know that your web site is a thing of beauty.

Thank you for all your the creative gifts that live in these pages. You're an amazing person!

Best Regards,
Viola