I decided to go for my walk early in the morning. I had been waiting till later in the afternoon when it warmed up. Yep, that’s fall in the Midwest. Cool mornings and warm afternoons. However, a change in weather was imminent. The forecast called for the high to be around eight in the morning and falling all day. I thought I could get my walk in before it got turned cold. And so off I went.

I walk at a place called Rocky Ford. It’s part of the outflow of a large dam making Tuttle Creek Reservoir. It’s a great place to walk and see birds. There is a paved sidewalk on the bank above the river and lots of trees almost ready for winter. I usually see Canada geese, northern flickers and cardinals there along with lots of sparrows and juncos and sea gulls. It’s also a good place to fish. I haven’t been there fishing yet though.

I went down to the water first to do some exploring. The water comes over a man-made fall there. The water is moving pretty fast up there but it slows as it starts meandering downstream. As I walked around on the walkway, I noticed a group of larger birds. They didn’t look like geese. I decided to get a better view from my normal route. Then it started to sprinkle.

But even though I was in shorts a little rain wasn’t going to stop me. This was Kansas and it’s always windy so I brought a light jacket. I put it on and pulled up the hood and kept on walking. Every good jacket has a hood. It was still nice and warm and the light rain had stopped as I started down the path. A leaf blew lazily across the walk. Three flickers flew into the trees a ways further down. It was going to be a really good day.

The wind blew and a raindrop or two fell as I walked along. Then it happened! What had been comfortable and warm changed. The temperature fell 10 degrees. The wind turned cold. The clouds went from grey to dark. A leaf scurried across my path. Just in that one step I went from cozy to cold. All of a sudden I was in the midst of the cold front. But I kept on going.

I found the flock of bigger birds that I saw earlier. Using my phone camera (it’s got a fantastic zoom) I was able to tell they were pelicans! White pelicans. That was awesome to see! I tried to get some pictures. I will share one if it’s not too bad.

I did finish my walk but it was wasn’t warm anymore. It was cold for the rest of my walk. But that got me thinking. I was now in the midst of the cold. It’s the same when David wrote Psalms 34. He was in the midst of a fifteen year trial. Saul was trying to kill David because David was to be the new king. And in the midst of that trial, David called out to God. In the midst of that trial, God heard David. In the midst of that trial, God saved David.

It is the same for you and me. In the midst of whatever you are going through, you should call out God. It doesn’t matter what the pain is or what the difficulty is. Reach out to God. He will hear you. He will answer you. That’s what God is like. He just wants you to rely on Him no matter the situation. When you do that, God will answer and deliver you!