Planting times

     I'm reading a book by Warren Wiersbe right now and thought these practical lessons on suffering were really helpful.  So here they are:

     "1. God has not determined to make us comfortable, but He has determined to make us conformable.  He will put us into the furnace to remove the dross and to make us moldable in His hands.  But keep this in mind: when you are in the furnace, your Father keeps His eye on the clock and His hand on the thermostat.  He knows just how much we can take.
     2. The battles of life are not easy, but God has given us the equipment we need to succeed.  Each victory prepares us for the next assault.  The race of life is not easy, but as we accept each new challenge, we grow and can accomplish more.
     3.We need patience. The harvest doesn't come immediately.  God doesn't bury us; He plants us.  And He promises that our experience will produce a harvest.
     4. Times of travail can be times of birth.  Today's suffering can mean tomorrow's glory.  God is not accomplishing all His purposes today, nor is He explaining all His plans.  We do not need to give birth to Ben-Oni; we can give birth to a Benjamin. [oops--that is from earlier in Wiersbe's book.  I'll explain in a second.]
     5. The storms of life are frightening, but God can speak to us out of the whirlwind. Even the storms can fulfill His will.
     6. Yield to the pruning knife; it will make us more fruitful.  Accept the cup that the Father gives us.

     One quick explanation: when Jacob and his family were moving from Bethel, his beloved wife Rachel went into childbirth.  It was a terribly difficult labor. "As she breathed her last--for she was dying--she named her son Ben-Oni [son of my trouble].  But his father named him Benjamin [son of my right hand]." (Gen. 35:16-18)  Jacob gave his baby a new name that would remind him not of his mother's death and sorrow but of his father's love and joy in him.  As Wiersbe commented on this: "In our experiences of travail, we need to trust God and dare to believe that the results will be triumph and not sorrow, no matter how much we may hurt.  The tribe of Benjamin became a noble people in Israel and gave the nation her first king.  They also gave the world the apostle Paul."
     Isn't that just so like God?  He takes our suffering and redeems it and uses it for purposes far beyond what we could ever imagine.  He truly does bring good out of even the dregs of despair.  He give us compassion and strength.  He gives us the ability to minister to others in ways far deeper and truer than we'd ever have otherwise.  He gives us hope and gratitude and depth.  And when we look to Him and trust His plans and purposes, He enables us to grow and blossom--because He "doesn't bury us; He plants us. And He promises that our experience will produce a harvest."  How I love that!  Like the seed in the ground--planted, not buried, to produce the harvest of beauty in the future.
     So today, if you are suffering in anyway, might you remember God is not burying, He is planting... and preparing to produce a harvest.  Keep trusting.  He is working... even when we cannot see... like the silent seed, planted deep in the soil, waiting, waiting to burst forth in glory.
     Never forget: the tomb is empty.  And we follow a betrayed, suffered, tortured, crucified, planted in a tomb... and RISEN IN GLORY SAVIOR.   We can trust Him in our own hard planting times... 'cause the glory is coming.  To God be the glory.

Annoyances... to praise

     It's early morning (my favorite time of day--thank You Lord for the peace and the still predawn darkness).  I just sat down with a big mug of hot tea (again, thank You Lord), my Bible (thanks again, Father), and two warm, soft, beautiful prayer blanket/shawls dear friends made for us during Janie's hospitalization (Okay, this is how we should live, isn't it, Lord? "Always giving thanks to God" Eph.3:20--so thank you thank you thank you--for friends, for prayer, for prayer blankets, for warmth on a cool morning, for quiet in my home... well, and for my home and for all the noise and activity that evidences the people that I love and makes me appreciate quiet!)
     Okay, where on earth was I?  Do they make ADD medicine for adults?
     Well, it's funny, here is what I was going to write before God interrupted me and reminded me to be thankful to the Giver of all good gifts: Just as I happily sat down in the wonderful dark stillness with my steaming mug of tea, my Bible open, and my hands on the computer keys, the dryer buzzed to let me know the clothes in the dryer were ready.  And I don't mean like a little delicate, ladylike buzz.  We're talking BUZZED BUZZED BUZZED--ear splitting, Rambo-like, insistent, annoying (to quote an oft-used phrase by my children... that and "random"--what is the deal with the word "random?"  As in "that 'random' girl"--something I despise hearing from anyone's lips. Nobody is random!  We are all made in God's image, created and loved and cherished by our Father whose love for each and every person was so immense, He made a plan way back at the dawn of time to redeem His dearly beloved children by sending His Son to die for them.  No one is random--not by the Redeemer!)
     O mercy, just commit me.  Where was I again?  Somehow, God seems to be reminding me how ridiculous our annoyances truly are in light of His greatness.  Because what I was going to say, was that the insistent BUZZ of the dryer reflected those annoyances and little problems in my life that can so quickly deflect and discourage me and get me off track from keeping God front and center in my life.   How many times has God taught us something in church or Bible study, and an hour later, we completely forget His Word and His presence when someone cuts us off on the highway or our child forgets something at school again (not that this has ever happened at our house) or we look at our to-do list from yesterday and realize we forgot to do the items we starred three times.  Sigh.  It's the little foxes that spoil the vine.
     Forgive us Father.  And the antidote, God just reminded silly, forgetful me, is praise and thanksgiving.  Turn those "annoyances" or little fox problems into vehicles to remind ourselves to be grateful.  Thank you that I can stand up and walk to the dryer.   Thank You that we are no longer in the hospital, and I'm home to put clothes in the dryer.  Thank You we have clothes to put in the dryer.  Thank You we have a dryer.  Thank You for the priceless beyond measure people in my life whose clothes I am drying.  Thank You that You are a God who never quits on us even when we allow little problems to get us irritated or downhearted.  And thank You for problems, Lord, as they drive us to You in dependence and need--the very best place to be. And thank You that those problems are the pathways for You to intervene in our lives and display Your power and Your glory.
     So, the dryer has stopped buzzing, the tea is gone, and it's just God and me (well, and Moses, of course) enjoying the peace and smiling at the greatness and goodness of an Almighty Lord who would sit and visit with His grateful child.  Thank You, Abba.  Let's go out and live this day together, all to Your glory and all by Your grace.
     Might you do the same.  He's with you even in the annoyances--let's makes them reminders to give Him praise.  To God be the glory.

Resting

     Don't know if you can quite see this picture because of the shadows, but this is our dear old black lab, Moses.  Resting.  Yes, Moses has cornered the market on resting.  And his favorite position for resting is in the sun--warms those old bones, I suppose, and don't we all need that!  Here's Moses, finding just a nice little patch of sunshine flowing in through one of the dining room windows, so he's found his sweet spot.  And life is very good.
     Moses' other favorite spot to rest is at the feet of any member of our family.  Wherever we are sitting, well, that's where he wants to be.  And at his advanced age and with his creaky, achy joints, getting up and moving is quite the effort--but if we move, he'll generally move too--and then immediately collapse down to the, you guessed it,  resting position.  Just as an example, when our son decided to watch a football game on the floor,  here's who joined him:

     You can learn an awful lot from a dog.
     Like what it means to rest.  And to rest in love, to rest with those with we love, and most importantly to rest with the Lord that we love.  To slow down, to really listen, to remember, to thank, to rejoice, to pray, and to be revived and restored.
     I just read some words from a woman named Emily Freeman who talked about being quiet.  One thing she wrote really struck me: "The urgent bursts into the room, dramatic and demanding.  The important whispers, steading and waiting."  Isn't that so true--we tend to rush through out lives--hurrying, trying desperately to cram it all in, worrying about everything that needs to be accomplished and all that is being left undone, fretting over so many little things.  What a terrible way to lurch through life, harried and frazzled and constantly on edge.
     Ever striving, but never slowing.  Ever rushing, but never resting.  And therefore missing so much daily joy that God pours out over our lives, like an everflowing waterfall of His grace and goodness.  And we just miss it in our haste and busyness and anxiousness.
   You know, all those "little" things that worry us and keep us up at night--I used to thing they were such big, enormous problems, and now I see them for what they truly are: small and inconsequential challenges to allow us to either fret ourselves to death or rely on our Almighty God.  Each a tiny opportunity to see Him work rather than worry ourselves.  Help us Lord in those "little" daily challenge/opportunites!
     And the best way we can gain that proper perspective on our challenge/opportunities is to daily spend some time quietly resting in Him.  Doing the important, rather than the urgent.  Even while the laundry or the emails or the project screams at us--NOW, do me right now!!  Hurry, worry!--we choose to say NO.  And turn to the important that is steady and waiting for us--spend time with those we love, chatting, laughing, sharing.  Pull out our Bibles and read.  Reflect on His Words.  Reflect on His goodness and grace to us this very day.  The pink that painted the sky last night at sunset.  The sweet old dog sitting at our feet.  The phone call from our sister or our friend.  The taste of chocolate cake (o yes, always that!).  The gift of a favorite song at church.  The hilarious thing your child said.  The ability to take that next deep breathe.  The fresh, cool air of fall.  The Word of God, ever new.  The gift of eternal, abundant life.  And grace--o the riches of the utterly undeserved, unbelievable grace of God.
     If we don't slow down, we won't see it.  We won't reflect and remember and then rejoice.  I love how Ann Voskamp put it: "Joy--it's always a function of gratitude.  And gratitude is always a function of perspective.  If we are going to change our lives, what we're going to have to change is the way we see."
     And I don't know about you, but I can't see much if I'm zooming down the highway at 70 miles per hour.  I have to slooooow down.  I have to choose to be quiet and rest and reflect and then see.  Because the Father loves to show His children His love when they come, like Moses, and rest at His feet.
     Just for the record, I'm pretty lousy at this resting stuff. But, by the grace of God, I'm determined to try and to learn more and more what it means to quietly rest and reflect and rejoice in Him.   Because His Word tells us: "For thus said the Lord God, the Holy One of Israel, 'In quietness and rest you shall be saved; in quietness and trust shall be your strength.'  But you were unwilling." (Isaiah 30:15)  Lord, we don't want You to say that about us.  Help us to be willing, Father.  Help us to enjoy being strengthened by You in quietness and trust.  
     So today, might we all take time to rest and reflect and then rejoice.  He's given you a whole new 24 hours to see how good and great He is.  Might you slow down to see it and then thank Him.
     To God be the glory.

An altar of praise

Six weeks ago today--God intervened to save the lives of four precious girls.  And to show the world that He is mighty to save, that He hears and answers prayers, and that He is still in the miracle business.  Because He is God.

"Call upon Me in the day of trouble; I will deliver you, and you shall glorify Me." (Ps.50:15)

"I love the Lord, because He has heard My voice and my supplications.  Because He has inclined His ear to me, therefore I will call upon Him as long as I live.  The pains of death surrounded me, and the pangs of Sheol laid hold of me; I found trouble and sorrow.  Then I called upon the name of the Lord." (Ps.116:1-4)

"Jacob said to his household,... 'Let us arise and go up to Bethel; and I will make an altar there to God, who answered me in the day of my distress and has been with me in the way which I have gone."  (Gen.35:2-3)

     Just a few of the verses I just read from this morning's Daily Light.  Again, God reminds us of His faithfulness, His goodness, His power, His grace, His provision,  His mercy... and that all is for His glory.  That He would be glorified and that we might glorify Him.  Jacob made his altar at Bethel; I make my altar here: to praise Him for delivering us in the day of trouble.  To remember all the ways He heard our voices and our supplications and answered again and again and again.  To love Him for His continuing faithfulness in being with all of us "in the way" we are going, in this continuing marathon.
       Not just with Tessa and Janie, but with all of us, all of you who are fighting long, tough battles and running challenging, seemingly endless races.  He is with you in the way you are going.  Might we all continue to "call upon Him as long as I live."  For each day's provision.  Each hour's need.  Each moment's decisions.
     This is one of my favorite pictures from the ICU in Greenville.  Another reminder, an Ebenezer, of God's incredible faithfulness in every single moment's challenges.  The first 72 hours, the desperate prayer was sent out--pray for no swelling of the brain.  So critical.  And God answered. Praise You Lord.
     Then, no sooner past that huge obstacle, the next urgent request: please pray for her lungs.  Her right lung suffered damage in the wreck, and suddenly that lung really began to struggle.  Frightening stuff, and I can still feel the paralyzing fear as the respiratory team went into immediate action.  And God answered.  The lung slowly began to recover.  Praise You Lord.
     And then came the fever.  A high, seemingly out of control fever that again, left us breathless with fear and seeming helplessness.  This time, Russ and Creecy were right there with us in the room the first time we watched the fever tick up and up on the monitor.  So we prayed.  Urgently, beseeching the Almighty to lower her temperature.  But we also went into action!  Reminded me again of the "warrior marathon sisters" back in action--Team Fountain--praying and acting!
     Creecy and I began putting cold cloths all over her, waving the chilled cloth over her face.  And Russ, one of our church's pastors, well, you could just say this is a pastor who does it all.  That's him waving a bedpan (a clean, unused one, I might add) back and forth to send a strong cooling breeze all over Janie's body.  I can still feel the breath of air that seemed to feel the room.
     At the time, despite the fear, God gave us such laughter!  We prayed and waved bedpans and wet washcloths... and the grip of terror loosened and the temperature began to drop. (And I had to take a picture.  We need to remember moments like these!)  Praise You Lord.
     And God was glorified--in the answer to our desperate cries and in the joy He gave to His fearful children.  True joy in Him--again, you can't explain it: joy in an ICU in the most desperate of times.  Yet there it was--His joy, His peace, His power, His provision for yet another challenge in this long marathon.
     So, Lord, this is my altar.  Help me never to forget all the ways You delivered us when we called upon You. For six long weeks You have listened and answered and provided.  Thank You for hearing us all each and every day.  Thank You for loving us.  Thank You for forgiving us.  Thank You for saving us.  Thank You that You are with each of us in our daily battles and our hardest challenges.  And thank You that You are a God of JOY!  Joy even in the midst of the sorrows and strains of life.
     And Lord, we pray and trust that You will be with us "in the way" ahead as we continue this marathon for Janie to recover.  And in each of our marathons--whatever challenge and crisis Your people are facing.  You are the God who hears and delivers and answers and heals and strengthens and provides all along the ways we each are going.
      "Bless the Lord, O my soul, and forget not all His benefits." (Ps.103:2)  Might we all never forget.  And might we praise the One who hears and who delivers.  To God be all the glory forever.

The stuff He uses

I lost my keys in the great unknown
And call me please 'cause I can't find my phone

This is the stuff that drives me crazy
This is the stuff that's getting to me lately 
In the middle of my little mess
I forget how big I'm blessed 
This is the stuff that gets under my skin
But I've gotta trust You know exactly what You're doing 
Might not be what I would choose 
But this the stuff You use

45 in a 35 sirens and fines
While I'm running behind

This is the stuff that drives me crazy
This is the stuff that's getting to me lately 
In the middle of my little mess,
I forget how big I'm blessed 
This is the stuff that gets under my skin
But I've gotta trust You know exactly what You're doing 
Might not be what I would choose 
But this is the stuff You use

So break me of impatience
Conquer my frustrations
I've got a new appreciation
It's not the end of the world

     My new theme song--ahh yes, Franesca Battistelli just didn't realize it, but she wrote this song about me.  So far today, I've LOST my car keys, my cell phone (always great when your daughter is calling you from school--only 12 missed calls), my Bible study notebook (full blown panic attack over that one),  and even an extremely heavy wheelchair.  

     How, you wonder, does one lose a wheelchair?  Well, we parked the car in the parking lot for physical therapy, I hauled said wheelchair out of the back of the car, run around to help Janie, and she looks at me and asks, "Mom, I need the wheelchair."  

     Well, of course you do, and here it is in the back of the... uh, did I forget to bring it?  No, I must have brought it since I just picked you up from school in your wheelchair.  Wait, I could have sworn I just heaved it out of the car, but where is it?  NOW I'VE LOST THE WHEELCHAIR!! 

     Somebody just commit me right now!  What are we going to do?  "I guess you can just hop around for a day or two, or maybe crawl on your right side.  How about that?  Would that work until we can find another one?" 

     O my stars, I cannot keep up with anything, I'm losing my mind, what on earth.... ah, what's that at the far end of the parking lot?  Glory, it's the wheelchair!  It must have rolled all the way down the parking lot--and managed not to hit a single car!  What a daring, smart, courageous, persevering wheelchair!  I'm thinking we might need to name Janie's wheelchair.  Maybe something like "Wallace" from the movie "Braveheart."  Or "Gladiator" from the movie with Russell Crowe.  Come to think of it, we could just name it  "Russell," since Russell Crowe is gonna be in the movie "Les Miserables."  

       Speaking of Les Miserables, that reminds me that I FORGOT Peter's lunch... again, and he will be miserable.  And it also makes me miserable that I forgot to email my children's teachers, since I missed open house night.  Teachers... preachers... I really really need to start working on a Bible study lecture for next week.  Study--boy, Lord, please help Preyer with his math test today.  And Peter's quiz on friday in...what was it in?  Well, You know, Lord.  Help him in whatever it is in.  In, in... did I leave the dog in the kitchen?  I think I forgot to let him go outside before we rushed off to school.  School, what time is Janie's next class and do we have time to run by the house to get her lunch since she is supposed to eat every two hours.  Two hours... O no, do we have time to drop off Preyer's golf stuff before school lets out.  Out, out... we are out of luck since I forgot to take the handicapped sticker out of my car when we took it to the shop to get fixed.  Fixed.... affixed, where did we put the foot rest that is affixed to Janie's wheelchair... O no, we left it at home!  Home, home... home is where the heart is.  Lord, here's my frazzled heart--help me to fix my heart upon You.  Give me a steadfast heart even in the midst of a fractured, disjointed day. 

      Gee,  I wonder why I'm losing everything since I seem to be so calm and focused?  

      Yep, we have got it all together around here, don't we?  If I lose one more thing, I'm just gonna sit down and... well, maybe eat a whole lot of chocolate.  

     Or better yet, go to the Word.  "And He is before all things, and in Him all things hold together." (Col. 1:17)   Everything in the universe holds together in You, Lord.  Wow, thank You Father--I may be in a million pieces, but You are not and You've got it all under control!

     "If then you have been raised with Christ, seek the things that are above, where Christ is seated at the right hand of God.  Set your minds on things that are above, not on things that are on earth.  For you have died, and your life is hidden with Christ in God." (Col.3:1-2)  Whew, thank You for the reminder, Lord.  The old Emily is dead, and my life right now is hidden with Christ.  He is my Peace in the midst of an out of control day.  He puts all the pieces of my life back together when everything is falling apart.  He has found me and holds me, even when I can't seem to find anything!  And He has given me the mind of Christ that enables me to seek the things above rather than focusing on debilitating or discouraging or demeaning thoughts.  

     And when it all falls apart, well, that's okay, because as the song goes, "this is the stuff You use."  For our good and Your glory.  All of it--big crises and little messes.  So thank You Lord for the "stuff" of this world that You are using in our lives to make us more like Jesus.  Now, where is that cell phone?  To God be the glory.  

    

Our Peace and Overcomer

     "If you want to make God laugh, tell Him your plans."
     I have no earthly idea where or when I first heard that, but it came to my mind today, and I thought, "hmm, I'm just thinking God has had a good chuckle over my 'plans' only five and a half weeks ago."     Needless to day, these past weeks were nothing we could have possibly planned for or wanted or even imagined.  We just take so much for granted and live by faith in more ways than we can begin to realize.  
     We believe the sun will rise and set as always.  We make plans for tomorrow assuming we will be here and will enjoy continued good health and strength to carry out those plans.  We assume and believe we will see our loved ones again at the end of the day. We implicitly discount any possibility of accidents or disease or foul play when it comes to the lives of those close to us.  We believe we will always have more time to tell people we love them, to show them how much they mean to us, and to do whatever God may be prompting us to do... even if it is tomorrow or next week or next month.
     But I've learned none of us is guaranteed next year or next week or tomorrow or even the next hour.  We are not promised a lifetime free of struggle and strain--in fact we are assured just the opposite.  "In this world you will have trouble..." (John 16:33a)
     Yes, we will absolutely have trouble... but that's not the end of the story or the verse:
         "... But take heart, I have overcome the world." (John 16:33b)
     And earlier in the very same verse He tells us that "I have said these things to you, that in Me, you may have peace." (John 16:33, again!  What a verse!)
     What a promise, what a Promisor!  We will have trouble in this world.  But we need never be discouraged or distraught for our Savior has overcome the world and whatever might befall us in this world.  He is greater still than any crisis, any challenge, any disease, any accident, any evil, anything this world can throw at us or against us--He is not only greater, but He has already understood it, undertaken it, and overcome it.  And if He is with us and for us, then we too can withstand and persevere and overcome as well.
     And not only that, in the midst of it all, right in the middle of the fiercest storms, the most impossible problems, He has promised that He is our peace and will give us peace.  Like so many of His promises, I used to just read that and think, how nice, He is our peace.  But I never knew how inconceivably wonderful that could be until we endured a long, fierce storm.  The kind of storm that was utterly unexpected, unanticipated, unexplainable, unendurable... apart from the supernatural peace and presence of the Lord Jesus.
     But it was there!  Unbelievably, incredibly, His peace--the peace that truly, that literally, passes all understanding--was there.  We felt His peace.  We were sustained by His peace.  We were carried from day to day, hour to hour, by His peace.  And just as He overcame the cross, He overcame our fears and moments of despair every single time.  We would just keep handing the fear and sorrow and uncertainty over to Him, moment by moment.  Just as soon as we handed it to Him, He gave us His peace and His overcoming power and presence.
     That's not to say we didn't fear--we did.  Or that we didn't cry or experience great sorrow--we did.  But they didn't overwhelm or overcome us.  Never.  He was our Overcomer.  He was our Victor.  And in Him, we enjoyed His peace in the midst of the battle... the battle that He was waging and fighting and winning with us and for us.
      I say all this just to remind myself--HE IS ABLE!  See, sometimes I forget.  Sometimes I forget what it was to stand by the bedside of an unconscious child day after day with nothing but the Savior and His Word and His beautiful body of Christ to sustain us... and that was always always always enough.
     I forget about His grace.  I forget about His love. I forget about His power--available to each of us every hour of every day.  I forget in my busyness and preoccupation about how graciously and miraculously far He has brought us.  Like I said the other day, I tend to forget about our chains... and that because of Christ, our chains are gone.  So I start making my own plans, formulating my own agenda, all the time forgetting to seek His plan, His way for me this week, this day, this hour.  Forgive me Father.  Forgive me for always thinking my ways and plans and ideas are best.  When they aren't.  Never were.  Never will be.
      Thank You for Your promises, Lord.  Thank You for Your Word that reminds us of Your faithfulness and power to overcome.  And thank You that You don't just give us Your peace... You are our Peace.  And in You, we will overcome whatever the world may throw at us.  By the blood of the Lamb.  By the Word made flesh.  By the Prince of Peace.  By the Way, the Truth, and the Life--whose way is always the best.
      Help us to remember, Lord.  Thank You for overcoming for us and in us.  And thank You, our Peace.  To God be the glory.

(Jamie Grace, a great Christian singer, with the girls of OneVoice, just before her concert last night--this was their "silly" photo!)

You Lead, I'll follow, Your hands hold my tomorrow
Your grip, your grace, you know the way'
You guide me tenderly,
When You lead, I'll follow,
Just light the way and I'll go,
Cause I know what You've got for me is more than I can see,
So lead me on, on, on, and on,
Just lead me on, on, on, and on.

     That's the chorus to Jamie Grace's song, "You Lead."  If you've never heard it, well, it's a keeper!  We love it--and of course, we doubly love it since OneVoice (a wonderful singing group Janie is in) sings it and made a recording of it this summer.  Janie sang the solo for it, and when we listened to the recording of the song after the accident, we couldn't believe how the words ministered to and encouraged us.  As Janie lay unconscious, we listened to her singing, "I know You got me, I know You got me, Lead me on and on" and "Cause I know what You've got for me is more than I can see."  And listen to the words just in the first verse:

I've got waves that are tossing me,
Crashing all over my beliefs,
And in all sincerity, Lord,
I wanna be Yours,
So pull me out of this mess I'm in,
Cause I know I'm wanderin'
Lead my soul back home again,
I've always been yours.

     Isn't it funny the things God will use?  The wondrous "God-incidences" that He continually brings into our lives to remind us that He is there and active and moving even when we can see no obvious, visible evidence of Him.  Sometimes I think He just likes to go undercover.  God could just blow our socks off everyday!  It would be nothing to Him to paint across the sky or wow us with some supernatural, splashy evidence of His power.  But He usually chooses simpler, stealth means of interjecting Himself into our lives--these understated interjections of the Divinity might be quieter, but they are nonetheless miraculous evidences of a sovereign, omnipotent God who cares for each of us  individually and personally.
    He knows and cares when life weighs us down, and He sends a friend's encouragement or an email or a beautiful bird or a soaring song or a "God-incidence" that often hides as coincidence.  One of my favorite examples of this occurred at the wedding at Cana--Jesus' first miracle.  Jesus and a couple of His disciples went to a wedding, and His mother tells him they had run out of wine.   Now, if I had been the Savior of the world, my attitude might have been, "Seriously?!  Are you kidding?  I'm thinking about the eternal souls of people and salvation and sanctification and really important stuff, and you're telling me about the wine running out at a party?!  Get a life!" (Well, actually, He would be the One giving them Life).
     But praise God, that's not our Savior.  He cares about the smallest details of our lives.  He knows when we cry and when we're crushed.  He understands when we're exhausted and when we're exasperated.  He helps us whether we're discouraged or disillusioned.  He loves the humblest to the noblest to the greatest to the littlest.  And nothing is too small or menial or unimportant to take to Him.
     Jesus tells the servants at the party to fill the large stone jars used for purification with water.  After they filled them to the brim, He tells them "Now draw some out and take it to the master of the feast." (John 2:8)  And when they did, the water had not only been miraculously transformed into wine, it was the finest of wines.  Jesus doesn't do things halfway or halfheartedly!
      At the time, however, no one except the servants and Mary knew of what Jesus had done.  He quietly, stealthily, but miraculously transformed water into wine as well as potential humiliation by the hosts into perfect hospitality.  That's just how He works... then and now.
     So, this is all to say, that is how He has worked over and over again the past few weeks.  Only now we have eyes wide open and looking for His God-incidences, His quiet but powerful interjections into our lives.   And when you are on the look-out, you see evidence of His beautiful nail-scarred fingerprints all over your life.  Everywhere you look.
     And this song was just one more example.  Janie's singing group recorded this song at the very end of a recording session.  They hadn't planned to do it.  Hadn't rehearsed it.  Just did it in the last 20 minutes for fun.  No big deal. I'm sure they figured nothing would ever come of it.
    Or so they thought.  But God would use their little song to encourage and strengthen many of us throughout the long days and weeks when Janie lay unconscious in the hospital.  Many of her friends have listened to it multiple times.  And the words have just sung even in Janie's silence of a sovereign God who never lets us go, who is in control, and who will lead us even in the darkest places of our lives.
    Thank you, Jamie Grace, for singing to the glory of God.  Thank you for this little song, You Lead.  Thank you OneVoice for singing it so well.  But most of all, thank You Lord for never letting us go, for always leading us, and for continually interjecting Your loving, perfect, gracious, glorious self in our lives... even in the dark, even in the God-incidences of our daily lives.  Thank You that we are never apart from Your loving heart and Your all-knowing mind.  Help us to have eyes to see all the ways You enter into our world every single day.  Give us not just eyes to see but hearts to praise.
      Lord, You lead, we'll follow... all the way to the finish line.  To our sovereign God be all the glory.