I don’t know when this dawns on others; I know that
at this stage of my life, demonstrations of God’s blessings, protection, and
providence are all around me. I don’t have to work hard to see.
Right now via Facebook, I have evidence of
miraculous answered prayers as well as the pleas of His people for their needs.
I love how God uses social media to
connect His people to His other people.
From my limited viewpoint, I often see just MY world
which, this morning, is from a very nice porch that looks out on our tranquil
lake. All is peaceful and right with the world. I laze in a white, over-sized
rocking chair and move it ever so slightly as to not generate any sweat. The
occasional truck rumbles through as it is construction season and my neighbors
continue on their titanic project. Really breath-taking.
Having lived some life, I can rock back and view
God’s trajectory in the concerns and lives of so many.
As a former problem fixer, how many times have I been
on the inside of someone’s problem, noodling how this thing could work out/not
work out? And then, how many times have I
1) kept my opinion to myself and
2) experienced ANOTHER breath-taker as the Creator
of the Universe has stepped in and made His presence known?
Not always does His solution make sense; not always
does He answer the prayer for healing, health, marital peace, or familial
unity. But if I am attentive, I can see His hand, sense His working, and then
rest in what He has taught me. He’s got
it.
I can’t offer specifics here as so many of the needs
that my friends share are not public. I am honored when they trust me in their
prayer chain. Mike and I lived and experienced the power of the prayers of
God’s people. I love that they want me in on whatever challenge they face.
Praying for others always blesses the pray-er.
The hardest for me involves sick children. When I
drive by a children’s hospital, I am so glad we have such specialty places and
I’m so sad that we need such specialty places. A sick child does not make sense
to me. I don’t think it will ever make sense to me.
Right now, I am joined in prayer for 3 children who
are fighting more than anyone should. Healing here? Maybe. Maybe not. The adults ask for prayers for healing and I
am no longer in the advice booth so yes, Dear God, heal this child, this
baby. Let me not read about the disease
to the extent that I cannot pray for healing.
I know that God gifts us with knowledge and that God
exists beyond that knowledge. I know that nothing cuts to a parent’s heart
deeper than a sick child. So I must include prayers for those parents and
family, and for the medical caregivers. God can do. I pray that He will. I also
know that sometimes, healing will not come in this plain and I need to stand at
the ready to ask God to wrap His arms around those who love that child.
For those outside of faith, this does not make sense
I guess. But then, that’s the nature of faith. Faith grows faith.
In this day when we have short attention spans and
are comfortable with bullet points, I cling to God’s bullet points:
God knows
God will
God will not
and my own personal favorite
Fear Not.
Amen.