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How's your week been? Mine's been full of prayer requests and prayers – some answered, some still on hold, sibling rivalry and sibling love, busy and crazy, busy and quiet, and God's sweet encouragement woven all through it – pretty normal for me, which means nothing normal at all! 🙂 Such is life in my Sandwich Generation family!
One thing that has been an extra special blessing to my heart this past week, as Easter drawers ever closer, was prayerfully considering the number of yeses to prayer that I've been blessed with compared to the number of waits or noes…and yes, though it's hard to say – let alone type, those noes are blessings too.
Even when it means a dear one's prodigal child still is wandering, a beloved friend's illness has taken a turn for the worse, issues I'm dealing with are still there in full… How can I say that?
Because God reminded me, yet again, of a precious Scripture I learned decades ago. Romans 8:28.
And we know that God causes all things to work together for good to those who love God, to those who are called according to His purpose.
This morning, as I prayed in my prayer closet (translation – the shower), for dear friends living on opposite ends of the country and the common grief they were sharing, I was again reminded of this TRUTH that God has proven to me, time after time.
When a precious child went home to heaven much too early.
When financial issues threatened to overwhelm us.
When my beloved husband joined our little one in heaven.
And the long list goes on….and on…and on…
Through it all, God has been there with me, every step of the way. Holding me, loving me, caring for me, answering every prayer – many with yes, many with no or wait, always with great love.
As I prayed with thanksgiving this morning for this precious reminder and the memories of the past 30+ years of walking hand in hand with my beloved Savior – not always perfectly, but always IN HIS righteousness – I was also reminded of a time in Jesus' life
When He prayed and received a definitive NO.
When He walked in sorrow and grief – but all alone.
When He gave up everything so that we might have everything IN HIM.
When He did it all so that Romans 8:28 would truly truly be alive and working in the lives of ALL who love Him.
What a precious gift to each of us. What a joy to pass this gift on to our beloveds, including the generations to come – our children…our grandchildren. And what a blessing if we see Christ's love shining back at us in their faces.
But even if that moment tarries, we can trust the God Who created the world, then loved the world so much He died for it – for us. We can trust Him as we wait on Him. And as we in the Sandwich Generation know well, waiting can become a way of life for months or years to come. Aren't we glad we have our Savior right there with us in the midst of it all?
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Kaye, you quoted my second favorite Bible verse, “And we know that God causes all things to work together for good to those who love God, to those who are called according to His purpose.”
My first favorite being, “Be not forgetful to entertain strangers: for thereby some have entertained angels unawares.”
I am now following you via Google+ 🙂
Dear lady. I like your commitment to Him. Its so hard for those outside the faith to see the hope we Christians have even when tragedy strikes. They see being in the faith as somehow living lives guaranteed to no longer be bothered by the troubles of this fallen world. Then when a Christian commits a sin, or suffers a death, or loss of health, fortune, etc., they laugh and mock the faith as being useless. If they could only understand that being a follower of Jesus of Nazareth, the Christ, is not a process of putting ones faith in things of this world but of the world to come. The physical existence we share with them is but a bus stop, train station, or airport lobby to another world where there are no sin instigated issues any longer. So I’m very delighted to read the words of a dedicated follower of Him. Your brother in Christ, Rick Habecker
Beautiful, heartfelt words…
Amen. Beautiful encouraging words.
Beautiful.
Following from the Spiritual Sundays blog hop.
I know that God has a plan for His children. Further, I know He has a purpose specifically for me – or else I would not be here. I came close to not surviving my 1st and 3rd pregnancies/deliveries and mere inches from rolling side over side in a minivan down a steep hill. Yet I am still here. So I am trying to ascertain what God’s will is for me and then work to fulfill that purpose.