So, What's Happening in YOUR Life These Days?

Malachi 4:2 "But to you who fear My name (says the Lord of Hosts), the Sun of Righteousness shall arise with healing in His wings; and you shall go out and grow fat like stall-fed calves."

I feel like I have been hogging the net-waves lately...mostly writing about our son Matthew and the cancer that has assaulted his body, and all of the emotions surrounding such devastating news.  It has been a roller-coaster month.  Thankfully the good news is that the doctors believe they can wipe it out in the course of about a year's worth of extremely aggressive chemotherapy...which started this past week.  The battle plan is quite rigorous and will definitely take a toll on Matthew's body...but we pray that it will do its work and bring about complete healing.  Time will tell...but we are very confident in the power of God to do the healing...as the verse says above, "The Sun of Righteousness shall arise with healing in His wings, and you shall go out and grow fat like stall-fed calves."

Interesting terminology.  I love it...and I claim it by faith on behalf of Matthew.  The vision that imagery conjures up in my mind is one of complete health, mighty in strength and vitality; restored in every way to a full, long, and happy life. Wow! Thank you, Jesus, for this picture You have engraved in my heart tonight! I love it.

So, now...back to my original question in the title of this blog!  "What's happening in YOUR life these days?"  I know that many of you have had your own battles to win, challenges to face, and triumphs to celebrate.  There are some of you who also have family members battling serious illnesses, overcoming tragedies, and who may be learning to walk by faith through treacherous terrain.  I appreciate those who, in spite of their own difficult circumstances, have taken the time to share words of encouragement, comfort, and hope for our family. Maybe it isn't in spite of, but because of these experiences you are able to share such wisdom with us.

This reminds me of a young woman whom I had never previously met, who, when she heard of our son (Matthew, again) having surgery to remove a brain tumor (many years ago now), she came to our home the day before his surgery and brought us a cooler filled with all kinds of snacks, beverages and other things that she knew would come in handy for us while we were waiting at the hospital.  I was overwhelmed by her thoughtfulness, especially when I learned that her husband had a malignant brain tumor, and he passed away shortly after that time. In the midst of her trial and tribulation, she reached out to us with the compassion of someone who truly understood what we were going through.

"Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of mercies and God of all comfort, who comforts us in all our tribulation, that we may be able to comfort those who are in any trouble, with the comfort with which we ourselves are comforted by God."  II Corinthians 1:3-4

Thank you, Lord, for friends such as these.  They are Your messengers of comfort to us during the difficult times of our lives. May we, in turn, be the same to others as You direct our paths to cross.  In Jesus' Name I pray, Amen.

"Do NOT be Afraid...The Battle is the Lord's..."

2 Chronicles 20:15  "...Thus says the Lord to you: 'Do not be afraid nor dismayed because of this great multitude, for the battle is not yours, but God's.'"  Verse 17: "You will not need to fight in this battle.  Position yourselves, stand still and see the salvation of the Lord, Who is with you, O Judah and Jerusalem!" "Do not fear or be dismayed; tomorrow go out against them, for the Lord is with you."

This is a fascinating story in the Old Testament book of 2 Chronicles.  I commend it to your reading...all of chapter 20.  The people of Judah were frightened as their enemies from Moab, Ammon and others were coming in a great multitude to battle against them.  The people of Judah cried out to God for help...they beseeched Him to judge these people (verse 12) because they said "We have no power against this great multitude that is coming against us; nor do we know what to do, but our eyes are upon YOU." 

God responded to them in verses 15-17 as written above...and told them not to fear or be dismayed, and to go out against them on the next day, "for the Lord is with you!"   So the people all bowed their faces to the ground and worshipped the Lord, and then they stood up to praise the Lord God of Israel with voices loud and high. (verse 18-19) 

The next morning they rose early, and Jehoshaphat instructed the people to believe in the Lord...and then "he appointed those who should sing to the Lord, and who should praise the beauty of holiness, as they went out before the army and were saying:  

"Praise the Lord, for His mercy endures forever."

"Now when they began to sing and to praise, the Lord set ambushes against the people of Ammon, Moab, and Mount Seir, who had come against Judah; and they were defeated."

(verses 20-22)

Verse 30 says "Then the realm of Jehoshaphat was quiet, for his God gave him rest all around."

Wow!  I love this story!  Do you realize that these people went out to face their fierce enemies with nothing more than songs of praise for the Lord?  Look at what happened to their enemies in verses 23-24:

"For the people of Ammon and Moab stood up against the inhabitants of Mount Seir to utterly kill and destroy them. And when they had made an end of the inhabitants of Seir, they helped to destroy one another! So when Judah came to a place overlooking the wilderness, they looked toward the multitude; and there were dead bodies, fallen on the earth. No one had escaped!" 

God had told them exactly right...He told them in verse 17 that they would not need to fight in this battle..."Stand still and see the salvation of the Lord, Who is with you..."   The people of Judah never had to fight one person...their enemies all destroyed each other while the people of Judah were still marching and singing praises to God!

Why do I love this story so much?  Well, first of all, because we so often  feel  helpless when we are up against the enemies of this life...whether it be sickness, depression, family strife, grief, financial worries, ...we  throw our hands up in the air and cry out, "God help us! We don't know what to do!"  I've been there way too many times, especially in the past year.  But I wonder how often we can honestly say that we have uttered the last part of the cry of the people of Judah in verse 12, "But our eyes are on YOU."  I know that I have a tendency to try and figure things out on my own and not consult God first.  I sometimes think of God only as a last resort...when it should be my first choice. 

And what about those people all singing praises to God with voices loud and high?  Actually, I have discovered that when I am feeling afraid, or sad, or confused...when I start to praise the Lord by singing hymns of the faith, I get stronger.  My joy returns, and my faith increases...there is great power in praising the Lord.  No one said anything about having a good singing voice or even knowing all the correct words...sometimes the words just flow, as the Holy Spirit ministers and soothes my heart...the demons of my soul flee away...they cannot stand against the power of a praising child of God.

So remember this story the next time you are frightened or alone or feeling sad...or when you are feeling oppressed by the cares of this world...

"The battle is not yours, but God's!"  "Stand still and see the salvation of the Lord, Who is with you!"

What IS the Purpose of These Strange Events?

John 11:4 "When Jesus heard that, He said, 'This sickness is not unto death, but for the glory of God, that the Son of God may be glorified through it.'"

Have you ever wondered why on earth crazy things were happening in the world, or in your town, your neighborhood, your home, your family, or in YOU?  I am certain we have all wondered about such things at one time or another in our lives;  probably more often than not in recent times.  In many cases there just isn't any good reason that we can discover in our human minds and hearts.  Bad things happen, people get sick, people die, countries have earthquakes, tornadoes, hurricanes, tidal waves, wars, terrorists...and the list goes on and on. We hurt, we grieve, we cry.  We wonder why.

I am not going to attempt to give an answer for all of the world's ills in this short blog...I could give a brief explanation in one sentence, but it would raise a lot of other questions that man has been debated since the beginning of time:  The Fall of Man.  That is the whole reason in a nutshell...read the book of Genesis...that's where it all began...but I am not going there tonight.  That is something for each individual to discover and either accept or refuse to believe for themselves.

What I want to look at tonight is this verse in John's Gospel, when Jesus was told that His good friend Lazarus was very sick.  It says that "When Jesus heard that, He said, 'This sickness is not unto death, but for the glory of God, that the Son of God may be glorified through it.'"  And then He waited two more days before He went on to visit at the home of Lazarus.  By the time He arrived there, Lazarus had already died.  When Jesus heard that news, He said to His disciples in verse 15, "And I am glad for your sakes that I was not there, that you may believe.  Nevertheless let us go to him."  When you read through this story you see that Jesus truly loved Lazarus and his family.  He was touched by the sisters' sorrow, so much so that Jesus also wept.  But Jesus was on a mission...there was a deeper purpose to this whole scene that goes beyond grief and comfort at the death of a friend and loved one. 

As Jesus was talking to Martha, the sister of Lazarus, He told her something that was extremely important...Jesus said to her in verses 25-26, "I am the resurrection and the life.  He who believes in Me, though he may die, he shall live.  And whoever lives and believes in Me shall never die...."  

And then He commanded that they remove the stone from the tomb where Lazarus, by this time, had already been entombed for four days.  Martha was almost hysterical as she cried to Jesus, "Lord, by this time there is a stench, for he has been dead four days!" (verse 39)

"Jesus said to her, 'did I not say to you that if you would believe you would see the glory of God?" (vs. 40)

Then He called Lazarus forth from the tomb, and it says in verse 44 that "he who had died came out bound hand and foot with graveclothes, and his face was wrapped with a cloth. Jesus said to them, 'Loose him, and let him go!'"  Then it says that many of the Jews who saw the things that Jesus did believed in Him. (vs. 45)

What does this mean to us today?  No, we cannot expect to be brought back to life after being dead for four days...probably not gonna happen today...but there again, if God wanted to do that, He could. He still has the same power today as He had 2000 years ago. But what can He do?  Why is it that in some cases, many days after an earthquake has toppled all of the buildings in a town and crushed many people to death, a child or even an adult is found alive in the rubble?...Or a little girl who lives not too far from here, who was lost in the swampy, mosquito infested, alligator and poisonous reptile laden dense woods for four days is found alive and quite well, considering her situation.  Just yesterday, people in Mississippi hid in a closet or a freezer when a monster tornado took their community by storm, and they survived when the rest of their whole building was destroyed...one man hid under a church pew, and the church was demolished, but he survived to tell the world that God saved him!

We don't always understand why one person lives and so many others have to die...it doesn't seems to make any sense...but in the larger scheme of things...the view from heaven...there is a purpose that goes beyond our ability to understand at this present time.  There is something going on behind the scenes that we can't see or fully comprehend...but there is one thing I do know and believe with all of my heart...God is in control.  This world is NOT our final home...There is a life to come...and the things that happen here are all a part of that Divine plan to bring us safely into the harbor of heaven...

Revelation 7:15-17 tells us of that heavenly home:  "Therefore they are before the throne of God, and serve Him day and night in His temple. And He who sits on the throne will dwell among them.  They shall neither hunger anymore nor thirst anymore; the sun shall not strike them, nor any heat; for the LAMB who is in the midst of the throne will shepherd them and lead them to living fountains of waters.  And God will wipe away every tear from their eyes."

Regardless of what happens here on the earth, good or bad, happy or sad, we have a glorious future ahead.  I will trust and praise God no matter what.

Carry Me!

Deuteronomy 1:29-31 "Then I said to you, 'Do not be terrified, or afraid of them.  The LORD your God, who goes before you, He will fight for you, according to all He did for you in egypt before your eyes, and in the wilderness where you saw how the LORD your God carried you, as a man carries his son, in all the way that you went until you came to this place.'"

"Carry me, Daddy"....I can remember saying to my own daddy as a tired little red-headed girl after a long busy day of play on the farm.  I was too sleepy to walk another step, and I needed someone bigger and stronger to pick me up and carry me up to my bed and tuck me in for the night.

"Carry me, Daddy," I can hear my own three little boys say to their Daddy at the end of a long,  exhausting day of riding bikes and climbing trees and playing cowboys and indians...and finally reaching that point of not being able to make their little legs move any further.

"Carry me, Daddy," I can hear my little grandson say to his daddy, my grown-up son, after a long day spent with his Grandma and Grandpa and Mama and Daddy at the Fryeburg Fair, riding every ride, looking at every cow, horse, sheep, goat, chicken, pig, and whatever else there was to see that he just couldn't bear to miss.

"Carry me, Abba Father,"  I have often said to my Father God at the end of a long, frightening, heart wrenching period of wondering why things were happening the way they were, and what possible good could come out of the difficult trials and tribulations we have often had to endure throughout our lives. 

"Carry me, Jesus," I now hear my grown up son say as he faces an uncertain future, filled with chemo treatments and tests and sleepless nights and concern for his own family's future.

I love what God tells the children of Israel as they faced the giants in the Land of Canaan, the "Promised Land"...

"Do not be terrified, or afraid of them. The LORD your God, who goes before you, He will fight for you...according to all He did for you in Egypt before your eyes, and in the wilderness where you saw how the LORD your God CARRIED YOU, AS A MAN CARRIES HIS SON..."

This same Lord, our Redeemer, Abba Father, Jesus...carries us, just as a "man carries his son"...  Oh! What comfort! What peace...What sweet tenderness...

"Jesus loves me, this I know! For the Bible tells me so.  Little ones to Him belong,

They are weak, but HE is strong!  Yes, Jesus loves me! Yes, Jesus loves me! Yes, Jesus loves me! The Bible tells me so!"

"Carry Me, Jesus."

Amen

"I Smile at My Enemies"

"My heart rejoices in the Lord; My horn is exalted in the Lord.  I smile at my enemies, because I rejoice in Your salvation.  No one is holy like the Lord, for there is none besides You, nor is there any rock like our God."  I Samuel 2:1-2

"For who is God, except the Lord? And who is a rock, except our God?  It is God who arms me with strength, and makes my way perfect.  He makes my feet like the feet of deer, and sets me on my high places." Psalm 18:31-33

Can you smile at your enemies today? Maybe we need to identify some of the enemies that trouble us: Sickness, Joblessness, loneliness, hunger, sorrow, fear, heartaches.

These are all true enemies that nag at our spirit and distress our minds, bodies and souls. I don't think too many of us feel like we can smile at these enemies, and I would be insensitive to suggest that you should.  However, these problems, as serious as they may be, these are not our real enemies.


Perhaps the verses above sound a bit smug or even too proud...I don't intend them to be that way, and neither did Hannah in the book of Samuel, or David in the Psalms... But the fact is, folks, in case you didn't know it, we are at war...we are in a battle to the death...  You may ask, "Well, who is our real enemy?"  I am not speaking of any earthly enemies here, and neither were the Old Testament writers.  Our enemy is the very same enemy that has been sneaking around ever since the Garden of Eden...I don't need to mention his name...but that old serpent has been trying his darndest to defeat God and all of God's children ever since he got kicked out of heaven.  But guess what?!  He is already a defeated foe...Christ delivered a knock-out blow to our enemy that day on the cross...and finished the job on the morning of His resurrection from the dead... He overcame death and destroyed Satan and his kingdom...and secured our place in Heaven for eternity.  The sad part is, the old devil doesn't want to believe he's a goner, and he keeps trying to take as many poor souls as he can fool into following him to hell...

"The Lord is my light and my salvation; Whom shall I fear? The Lord is the strength of my life; Of whom shall I be afraid?  When the wicked came against me to eat up my flesh, my enemies and foes-they stumbled and fell!  Though an army may encamp against me, my heart shall NOT fear; though war may rise against me, In this I will be confident. Psalm 27: 1-3

For in the time of trouble He shall hide me in His pavillion; in the secret place of His tabernacle He shall hide me; He shall set me high upon a rock!  And now my head shall be lifted up above my enemies all around me; Therefore I will offer sacrifices of joy in His tabernacle; I will sing, yet, I will sing praises to the Lord."   Psalm 27: 5-6

 Does this make our sickness, sorrow, heartache or fear go away? Does this solve all our problems? Probably not in the way we would like it to...but one thing inherent in these passages above is the wonderful confidence in knowing that our God is holding on to us...He is shielding and protecting us from this enemy who is trying to rob us of our joy.  We do not have to give in to fear and desperation. 

The Book of Romans, chapter 8:31 says, "If God is for us, who can be against us?"  Verse 35 says, "Who shall separate us from the love of Christ? Shall tribulation, or distress, or persecution, or famine, or nakedness, or peril or sword?"  Verse 37 says: "Yet in all these things we are more than conquerors through Him who loved us!"

"For I am persuaded that neither death nor life, nor angels nor principalities nor powers, nor things present nor things to come, nor height nor depth, nor any other created thing, shall be able to separate us from the love of God which is in Christ Jesus our Lord!" Romans 8:37-39

If THAT doesn't make us smile at our "enemies",  I don't know what will! 

Make a Joyful Noise!

"Make a joyful noise unto the Lord, all ye lands. Serve the Lord with gladness: come before His presence with singing. Know ye that the Lord He is God, it is He that hath made us, and not we ourselves; we are His people, and the sheep of His pasture.  Enter into His gates with thanksgiving, and into His courts with praise; be thankful unto Him, and bless His name. For the Lord is good, His mercy is everlasting; and His truth endureth to all generations."  Psalm 100

I think this is one of the first Psalms I ever learned as a child...and it seems to me that we actually quoted this in school at a Thanksgiving program or something... I know you think I'm dreaming that one up, but back in those days we could read the Bible in school and even have PRAYER!  Now I am giving away my age...you know I must be old if we actually prayed in school!  We even got paddlings at school...I don't believe that I ever got one, but I know I deserved a few. Those who were unfortunate enough to be on the receiving end of the "board of education" have never forgotten it...and have never been unhappy about it either...they knew they deserved it...and they also knew that the application of the rod of instruction taught them valuable lessons not learned in the reading and writing and 'rithmetic books!

Enough of my reminiscing about the "good old days".  I truly was blessed to have lived in a small town, and to have attended a small school, where I made many, many friends...many of whom are still very close friends to this day. I believe that is one of the reasons I can make this "joyful noise" today;  good friends who cared enough to take time to pray for our family, to send a word of encouragement and hope during a difficult time, and who have blessed my heart with their kindness, thoughtfulness, and enduring friendship. Tonight I just want to say, "Thank you!" 

"For the Lord is good; His mercy is everlasting; and His truth endureth to ALL generations!"

There's Dancing in the House Tonight!

"You have turned for me my mourning into dancing; You have put off my sackcloth and clothed me with gladness, to the end that my glory may sing praise to You and not be silent.  O Lord my God, I will give thanks to You forever!"  Psalm 30:11-12

"Praise God from Whom all blessings flow!

Praise Him all creatures here below;

Praise Him above ye heavenly host;

Praise Father, Son, and Holy Ghost." 

Amen

The Doxology

Thomas Ken 1637-1711

The Doxology is a familiar song to most of us I am certain...many can sing it totally from memory because we have sung it every Sunday since we were first carried into church as little children..  But I wonder how many have ever stopped to listen to exactly what we are singing?  Do we really believe what we are saying?  Do we actually mean what we sing? As with so many familiar prayers, songs, and affirmations of our faith, we often just say the words without thinking.  Certainly we would say that we believe what we are saying...but do we really?

Tonight I can honestly say that this Doxology of praise to God was the first thought that came to my mind when my son Matthew called to tell me the results of his doctor appointment in Boston. You see, for the past several weeks we have been praying, pleading, and crying out to God to heal our son from the horrible diagnosis that had been pronounced upon him. In the past couple of days, God had filled me with an inner peace that could only have come from above.  In my heart I believed that today's news would be good news, but in my head I was still a bit afraid to fully announce it for fear of being wrong and possibly causing some to doubt God.  But I shouldn't have feared...

The good news is that the Dr. has said that he believes that this cancer has been caught early enough to be able to eradicate it with a year of chemo and monitoring.  He said that he has never seen this particular rare and aggressive cancer discovered this early before, so he feels that Matthew has a very good chance of a cure. 

We are praising God tonight for this answer to prayer! We know that only God could have directed Matthew to find that tumor at such an early stage.  The Dr. said most people don't discover it until it is too far advanced, so he is very optimistic.

Matthew says to please thank everyone for your prayers...but please don't stop now and get too comfortable.  He still has a long, difficult road ahead of him, and will need a lot of prayer support to get through it.  We know that God has His hand on Matthew and his family...and we can only stop and praise Him for His mercy and grace once again.

"I will be glad and rejoice in Your mercy, for You have considered my trouble; You have known my soul in adversities, and have not shut me up into the hand of the enemy; You have set my feet in a wide place."  Psalm 31:7-8

Yes, Praise God from Whom ALL blessings flow!!

The Lord Is My Strength and My Shield

Psalms 28:7 "The Lord is my strength and my shield; My heart trusted in Him, and I am helped; Therefore my heart greatly rejoices, and with my song I will praise Him."

I love the old hymns of the faith...they often express exactly what I am feeling at the moment. So please bear with me as I share with you another old hymn that I find comforting today:

"Jesus, I am resting, resting

In the joy of what Thou art;

I am finding out the greatness

Of Thy loving heart.

Thou has bid me gaze upon Thee,

And Thy beauty fills my soul;

For, by Thy transforming power,

Thou has made me whole.

Oh, how great Thy loving kindness,

Vaster, broader than the sea!

Oh, how marvelous Thy goodness

Lavished all on me!

Yes, I rest in Thee, Beloved,

Know what wealth of grace is Thine,

Know Thy certainty of promise,

And have made it mine.

Simply trusting Thee, Lord Jesus,

I behold Thee as Thou art,

And Thy love, so pure, so changeless,

Satisfies my heart;

Satisfies its deepest longings,

Meets, supplies its every need,

Compasseth me round with blessings;

Thine is love indeed!

Ever lift Thy face upon me,

As I work and wait for Thee;

Resting 'neath Thy smile, Lord Jesus,

Earth's dark shadows flee.

Brightness of my Father's glory,

Sunshine of my Father's face,

Keep me ever trusting, resting;

Fill me with Thy grace.

Jesus, I am resting, resting,

In the joy of what Thou art;

I am finding out the greatness

Of Thy loving heart."

"Jesus, I Am Resting, Resting", by Jean S. Pigott, 1845-1882

Thank you all for your prayers for our son Matthew today, as he travels to Boston for his appointment with the medical team at Dana Farber Cancer Institute.  Today he will be learning what level this cancer has supposedly reached in his body, and what the treatment plan will be.  We are praying that God has already gone before him, has prepared the way with Doctors who are knowledgeable, compassionate, and highly skilled.  We are also praying that they will be astounded by what God has already been doing in Matthew...and that they will know beyond a shadow of doubt that God has already touched his body and brought healing.  We are trusting and resting in Jesus today.  Regardless of the outcome of these reports, we will trust our God.  We KNOW that HE is in control, in all things.  Therefore, I can rest in Him today.

Thank you, everyone! 

GOD IS IN CONTROL!

AMEN!

Perfect Peace...The Calm in the Middle of the Storm...

Isaiah 26: 3-4 "You will keep him in perfect peace, whose mind is stayed on YOU, because he trusts in You.  Trust in the Lord forever, for in YAH, the LORD, is everlasting strength."

"Far away in the depths of my spirit tonight

Rings a melody sweeter than psalm;

And in heavenly strains it unceasingly falls

O'er my soul like an infinite calm."

(Chorus)

"Peace, Peace, Wonderful Peace,

Coming down from the Father above,

Sweep over my spirit forever, I pray,

In fathomless billows of love!"

"I am resting tonight  in this wonderful peace,

Resting sweetly in Jesus' control;

For I'm kept from all danger by night and by day,

And His glory is flooding my soul!"

(Chorus)

"And I think when I rise to that city of peace,

Where the Author of peace I shall see,

That  one strain of the song which the ransomed shall sing

In that heavenly kingdom will be:

(Chorus)

"O dear soul, are you here without comfort and rest,

marching down the rough pathway of time?

Make Jesus your friend ere the shadows grow dark;

Oh, accept now this peace so sublime!"

(Chorus)

"Peace, Peace, Wonderful Peace,

Coming down from the Father above,

Sweep over my spirit forever, I pray,

In fathomless billows of love!"

("Wonderful Peace", by W.D. Cornell)

I really don't need to add anything to this tonight, except to say that this represents how I am feeling
in regards to our current family situation.  I was starting to allow myself to get panicky, thinking about our son's upcoming meeting with the cancer specialist at Dana Farber Cancer Institute in Boston this Tuesday.  But our grandson Noah, age 10 1/2, reminded us of something that we need to remember: "We have a secret weapon...prayer"...

"Now when He (Jesus) got into a boat, His disciples followed Him.  And suddenly a great tempest arose on the sea, so that the boat was covered with the waves.  But He (Jesus) was asleep.  Then His disciples came to Him and awoke Him, saying, 'Lord, save us! We are perishing!'  But he said to them, 'Why are you fearful, O you of little faith?'  Then he arose and rebuked the winds and the sea, and there was a great calm.  So the men marveled, saying 'Who can this be, that even the winds and the sea obey Him?'" Matthew 8:23-27

"Peace, Peace, Wonderful Peace,

Coming down from the Father above,

Sweep over my spirit forever, I pray,

In fathomless billows of love!"

Amen.

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...