Is Your Hut on Fire?

My friend Bill sends me a lot of emails....some of them funny....some of them not....but yesterday he sent me one that I actually needed.  I was having a huge pity party yesterday and was feeling rather shipwrecked.  I was sitting at the desk waiting for my students to come into class after lunch and thought I was going to just sob.....but....there was this email....and after reading it.....I knew...that I would survive this pity moment.   You know sometimes when we send emails we don't know what is going on on the other side of the computer....sometimes your email might be just the medicine to make someone else's day.  The story goes like this.....the only survivor of a shipwreck was washed up on a small, uninhabited island. He prayed feverishly for God to rescue him. Every day he scanned the horizon for help, but none seemed forthcoming. Exhausted, he eventually managed to build a little hut out of driftwood to protect himself from the elements, and to store his few possessions. One day, after scavenging for food, he arrived home to find his little hut in flames, with smoke rolling up to the sky. He felt the worst had happened, and everything was lost. He was stunned with disbelief, grief, and anger. He cried out, 'God! How could you do this to me?'  Early the next day, he was awakened by the sound of a ship approaching the island! It had come to rescue him! 'How did you know I was here?' asked the weary man of his rescuers. 'We saw your smoke signal,' they replied.
The Moral of This Story:
It's easy to get discouraged when things are going bad, but we shouldn't lose heart, because God is at work in our lives, even in the midst of our pain and suffering. Remember that the next time your
little hut seems to be burning to the ground. It just may be a smoke signal that summons the Grace of God.  I just had to share this.....I did not know if your hut was on fire today.  Happy Tuesday!