The afternoon was nearly over and I had spent the entire day cleaning.  This was quite an accomplishment since my kids were about 2, 4, and 7 at the time.  I put the finishing touches on the master bedroom and headed out to the living room to crash on the couch for a well deserved break before preparing dinner.  My mind envisioned my sparkling clean abode until I took that fateful step into the living room.   All my sparkling thoughts came crashing down around me.   My youngest son had dumped an entire box of Cheerio’s over the living room floor;  and there he sat with a big smile on his face munching happily away in the midst of  the mess he had created.

Now isn’t that just the way life happens sometimes.  You have worked so hard and everything is so sparkly, then all of a sudden it falls into a million Cheerio’s on the living room floor.  Joseph must have felt that way when his brothers sold him into slavery.  Fortunately the vacuum made quick work of the cheerio’s on my floor.  But, for Joseph it must have felt as if the lights had been turned off and in the process of picking them up one by one more were being crushed into a bigger mess.  Despite all the discouragement in Josephs life, He trusted God with it all and God blessed him.    Through the lessons he learned in the mess, he was able to do the work God had prepared for him. 

Let the morning bring me word of your unfailing love, for I have put my trust in you. Show me the way I should go, for to you I entrust my life.  Psalm 143:8 NIV

 May the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace as you trust in him, so that you may overflow with hope by the power of the Holy Spirit.  Romans 15:13 NIV

  They will have no fear of bad news; their hearts are steadfast, trusting in the LORD.  Psalm 112:7 NIV