will it ever stop?

every morning, i wake up to the sound of the news on the radio, and usually within a minute or two, they tell us what the exchange rate is for the canadian dollar vs. the american dollar. for two years, the news has gone in one direction, and it's not helping us.

i work for inter-varsity canada, but most of our support is given in american dollars. what this means in practical terms is that our support falls along with the american dollar. and boy, has it fallen. here is a two-year graph of the american dollar compared to the canadian dollar (courtesy of yahoo finance):

as you can see, it's a steady downward trend — a decline of about 17% — with no end in sight. experts say that the u.s. balance of payments deficit and budget deficit (both at record levels) are creating an extreme downward pressure on the amercian dollar; whatever the causes, the results are clear enough.

what does that mean for us? i don't really know. God is the provider, and money is no problem for him. i simply have to admit that i never anticipated these circumstances, and that it's easy for me to fret if i'm not careful.

when we came to montreal, i felt that God was calling me to walk by faith and not by sight (2 Corinthians 5:7). and here i am again, unable to see what is ahead. i've told God that i don't mean to complain, but i just walk so much better by sight! but this, apparently, is not his plan for me (or for any of us, really). so i don't know if the downward trend of the american dollar will continue or not, but this i do know — the need to walk by faith will not stop.

i know myself well enough to know that i will continue to walk. but you can pray that i will walk, not by fatalism, but by faith — actively trusting and putting my hope in God. if i'm not careful, i can too easily neglect that part.