For the past year I have been working on moving our daughter Kathryn out of a nursing home and into a support home. My hope and prayer is she would be in a more loving and stimulating environment. It is heartbreaking each time I go and see her in the nursing home. Just the thought of my sweet little girl there brings tears to my eyes. As I walk through this process I often feel alone and wonder if it will ever workout. Feeling broken and defeated, I knew this was beyond anything I could do on my own. I turned to the one source which would be my strength and could accomplish this move, God, so I started to pray.
Endless Love
Give thanks to the Lord, for he is good; his love endures forever. Psalms 118:29
Wednesday, July 28, 2010
A Test of Faith in Changing Hearts
For the past year I have been working on moving our daughter Kathryn out of a nursing home and into a support home. My hope and prayer is she would be in a more loving and stimulating environment. It is heartbreaking each time I go and see her in the nursing home. Just the thought of my sweet little girl there brings tears to my eyes. As I walk through this process I often feel alone and wonder if it will ever workout. Feeling broken and defeated, I knew this was beyond anything I could do on my own. I turned to the one source which would be my strength and could accomplish this move, God, so I started to pray.
Thursday, July 22, 2010
PEACE IN THE STORM
One spring evening, as I looked out my front window, there was a different picture being painted. I could see a storm blowing in, the parade of colors had turned to black. The once white billowing clouds were dark with sharp spears of light shooting from them wildly, followed by loud and terrifying cracks and claps. The gentle breeze of spring had turned violent and the trees were twisting in the wind. A storm was approaching and I was in it’s path.
I turned on my television so that I could try and catch the 6 o’clock weather and get a better idea of what I was in store for. The picture painted by the weatherman was not promising. Hail and tornado activity were reported to the west of us and heading our way. The rain was falling from the sky as if buckets of water were being emptied, instead of the gentle spring rain we had experienced earlier in the week. Our field to the south of us now hosted a river of water roaring down the hill. Our pond, which was bone dry, now was full and if the rain continued at this rate, the water would spill over the dam.
Although this was a terrifying experience I knew that I was safe in the shelter of my home and I took comfort in this. My next few entries will be reflecting on the storms of life that I have experienced and how I found my shelter and comfort in the Lord. As I am writing this, I am reminded of a storm that Jesus had calmed in Matthew 4:35-71 and Luke 8:22-25. Jesus and his disciples were crossing the sea and a storm blew in while Jesus slept. The disciples woke him asking if he cared if they perished. Jesus spoke "peace, be still" and the storm was calmed. He then responded to them saying "where is you faith?". How often do we find ourselves in the storms of life and ask God if he is there and does he care, when instead we should be placing our faith in him.