Who's Taking Care of YOU?

Psalm 27:10  "When my father and my mother forsake me, then the Lord will take care of me."

Have you ever felt forsaken by your mother or your father?  I realize that this is a loaded question, for I know there are many out there who have experienced this in the extreme sense of the word "forsaken"...and it is not my intention to stir up feelings of sorrow or anger tonight. Please bear with me...

Whether or not we were actually literally forsaken by our parent(s), we have all  felt that way at one time or another.  Oftentimes it was not an intentional desertion on their part, but instead a gulf that was there due to circumstances usually beyond their ability to control...perhaps due to illness, whether physical or mental, or possibly due to relationships that were torn apart by war, battles of the will, divorce, or distance because of financial restraints and difficulties brought on by the national economy or joblessness. Whatever the reason, the pain of separation affects both the child and the parent, whether or not they ever express it. 

Right now I am the parent who is feeling very frustrated and sad because I am not able to be with my son who has been diagnosed with a very rare and aggressive cancer. I feel like I am the one forsaking him, but it is certainly not intentional.  I know that I will be there with him as soon as is reasonably possible, but I want to be there right now. My mother heart wants to fly right up there and stay beside him and "kiss all his boo-boos away", like I did when he was a child. However, he is an adult now, a married man and a daddy, with a wonderful wife and an equally wonderful son.  It really isn't my place to take care of him as before. 

I know that our son does not really feel like we have forsaken him. He knows we want to be there and that we will be going as soon as possible.  But as I read this verse today, I thought to myself, "Yes, even when we are not able to be there with our child...or even if we were there with him, it is the LORD who is taking care of him." 

You see, when our children were infants, and actually before they were born, we committed them to God.  We prayed for them even before they were conceived, and while they were being formed in the womb we continued to pray for them and sang spiritual songs to them. We rejoiced at their birth...and as soon as we were physically able, we took them to church and stood before the Lord and dedicated them to God.  We understood the fact that our children were not really ours...they were each a gift from God to us, to love, to care for, to instruct, and to give back to God for His service. All the while it has been GOD who has been taking care of them...not us.  We did our part in obedience to God, but even if we had not, God would have taken care of them.

Isaiah 49:14-16 says, "But Zion said, 'The Lord has forsaken me, and my Lord has forgotten me.'

(Then God responded to him):  'Can a woman forget her nursing child, and not have compassion on the son of her womb? Surely they may forget, yet I will not forget you.  See, I have inscribed you on the palms of MY hands; your walls are continually before Me.'"

I believe these verses can be taken personally as well as in the context of God talking to the children of Israel.  I especially am drawn to the part where the Lord says that He has inscribed us on the palms of His hands.  I think about the nail prints in the palms of the hands of our Savior, Jesus Christ.  Those scars are there because He loved us so much He was willing to die for us...that tells me that He cares for us much much more than we could ever care for our children or each other. And why was He willing to die for us? So that we will one day be able to spend eternity with Him...He loves us that much...He wants to be with us forever and ever. 

"Be strong and of good courage, do not fear nor be afraid of them; for the Lord your God, He is the One who goes with you. He will not leave you nor forsake you." Deuteronomy 31:6

Thank you, Jesus, for this reminder tonight.  This gives me great comfort. I know that You will not forsake our son...You have him inscribed in the palms of Your nail-scarred hands. I know that I can trust the One who died for me..and for him. Amen.

So dear friends, I ask you, "Who is taking care of YOU?"  Think about it...pray about it...and believe...