In late September our annual extended family vacation took us to Maine. My wife Tammy and I have been taking these vacations with one or both of her sister’s families for nearly our entire married life. These days, some of the nieces and nephews who were not even around for that first vacation to Turkey Creek Ranch in Theodosia, Missouri, are now married and have children.   The little boy in the photo is now 38, and we’re returning again to T-Creek this year, meeting up with 6 children under the age of 4.
The temperatures were cool as we landed at our first of two locations/homes in Maine, this one being in the small town of Northport. Our house overlooked beautiful Penobscot Bay. By walking on a narrow path (we were warned to avoid the poison ivy and deer ticks off the path), we could get to a wonderful place to watch the bay, including the ferry, sailboats and loons.
As I sat there looking out over the bay in those first days of our vacation, I was reminded of God’s faithfulness that we often take for granted. Each day the sun comes up in the morning and goes down in the evening. In fact, later in our vacation, some of our group went to the top of Cadillac Mountain in Acadia National Park to be among the first in North America to see the sunrise.I watched as the tide would come in, go out, come in again and go out again. And the cool temperatures and fall colors reminded me that summer had turned to fall once again.
This reminded me of these lines from Thomas Chisholm’s wonderful 1925 hymn “Great is Thy Faithfulness”:
Great is Thy faithfulness, O God my Father!
There is no shadow of turning with Thee
Though changest not, Thy compassions, they fail not
As Thou has been Thou forever wilt be

Great is Thy Faithfulness
Great is Thy Faithfulness
Morning by morning new mercies I see

I recently shared 10 great verses from Scripture about God’s faithfulness.  There are many others I could share. Dear ones, you can trust Him. Psalm 121 tells us that God is our keeper. He will neither slumber nor sleep.
Yes, we will all go through difficult times. Christians are not immune to pain or heartbreak. There is a good chance that either we, or a loved one will one day face cancer. We will all walk through the valley of the shadow of death (Psalm 23:4). But during those times, the psalmist tells us that He will be with us, comforting us. He is faithful.
Even though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death,
I will fear no evil, for you are with me;
your rod and your staff, they comfort me

Have you considered God’s faithfulness in your life? What verses or hymns about His faithfulness bring you comfort?