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Compassion

Monday, July 20, 2009

In My Heart~ Nahum 1:7

In our house my husband is ALWAYS encouraging us to know the Lord, to stay close to Him. There is safety close to the Father; he can keep us safe from unforeseen troubles. When we are walking closely with him, he keeps up from stumbling, he directs us in the way that is right. We are living this scripture right now…our family is in a time of “trouble.” God has not left us, nor has he forsaken us, in fact he has taken care of every single need we have. We have plenty of food, clothes to wear, a grandmother who is very generous and each other, still my husband has been out of job for over six months now!

Every morning when we pray we are thanking God for his provision, begging God for employment, trusting in God’s goodness.

My two oldest sons had a very profitable yard service business that they walked away from when we moved back to the Midwest. My oldest son has really felt the desire to get a “real” job. He’s only 14, so there are some limitations. But he has applied at a pizza shop, to be the kid on the corner holding the sign and he’s applied at a grocery store to be the dreaded “cart boy.” He got turned down at both places, but you know what the Lord did? He brought a neighbor over to our house, and she hired him to do yard work. Now, it’s not an on-going job, but it’s still an answer to a prayer and I believe that God will keep answering. Son trusting: God Providing

My second son has always wanted to take some kind of martial arts class. It’s never been in the budget and he’s been so gracious and good-natured despite that. We were out garage saling the other day and he found a brand new, amazingly top quality bench press with weights for $35. He was able to buy it with his own money and has discovered that he loves the challenge of lifting weights. He’s never complained about not getting to do karate. Son Trusted: God Provided

My oldest daughter was so sad to leave Washington because she had some really special girl friends over there. We had many talks and prayers to the Lord about this worry she had. Do you know she has more friends now then she did over there and these are people we see often! She is so happy and so thankful and is continually telling me how glad she has a friend like “such and so.” It’s another wonderful example of God’s compassion and goodness. Daughter Trusted: God Provided

This is kind of a silly example, but it is true just the same. My 6 year old found a frog. He loved that frog and his mean ole’ momma made him let it go. He was sad, but complied. A day later daddy brings him home a turtle that he found crossing the road. Not only that, but since then, daddy has put a pond in our back yard for the turtle and that six year old has added 10 frogs to his little collection! Truly it was a day of trouble for a six year old when his momma makes him return his pet to the wild, but we talked about how because he honored his mom, God could bless him. And boy did He! Son Trusted: God Provided

I could go on and on, but you see the trend. God is so good. His goodness is beyond my understanding most days. I think it’s important to remind our children when God has answered their prayers, to remind them that God is their stronghold, their ever present help in time of trouble, to let them learn to trust and know the Lord. Why He cares about our little “troubles” is beyond me, but I will feel that I’ve served my family well if I can show them how trusting in God, and striving to KNOW him, leads to a place of safety and peace.

Go here to find the PDF files for our verse this week!

1 comment:

Tammany said...

This has really met me where I'm at today and blessed my heart...my family too is in really troubled and struggling time and while I have many conversations with my 8 year old that the Lord is always listening and answering our prayers...and that sometimes His answer is wait...I love your examples of even the simpliest ways of pointing out the yes's as well...Thank you~godluvzu2
Blessings~Tammany