Thursday Part Two has begun. "Dra-a-a-ma! Poppi wea-ving!" "Gramma, Tinkerbell is licking me!" I look at the clock -- three hours 'til Bible study. Praise God! Three hours to do the things it takes me six hours to do on other mornings. Are you kidding me? It's the morning routine and letting the dog in and reviewing notes and crowd control and repeating myself and letting the dog out and the quick trip to the market and the television is offline and letting the dog in. Soon the house is fully alive with happy chatter. Peace and joy settle in as we pray and study God's words. The hurry and crazy of the morning fades into the background as the presence of Jesus comes sharply into focus. He is the One who makes all of this possible. He is the One who sustains us through our days and gives us rest all through the night -- even the shortest nights.
But, during prayer, a sound from the basement -- the sound of silence. "Well, that's not good," I think, and I tiptoe out to investigate. My mother and two little partners in crime, liberally applying lotion and lipstick. "Gramma, I helped Nana with her necklace!" "Dra-a-a-ma, I got wo-shun!" And right then, at that very moment, as I stare into those faces, I thank God for the privilege of it all. Of the rushing and the noise, of the delays and the silence. I thank God for the laughter and the unforeseen, for the tears and the drudgery. His love for me is beyond measure, but while He demonstrates it toward me again and again, in myriad ways, I often fail to notice. In my failure, I incur the greatest loss; but in these "neon sign" moments, these moments I pray for -- "Make it clear, Lord, You know how dense and distracted I can be" -- He floods my world with blessings undeserved. My sisters close by and praying. My loved ones before me and laughing. My God forever and in all ways sustaining me; I am overcome by gratitude.
“I have heard of You by the hearing of the ear,But now my eye sees You.Therefore I abhor myself,And repent in dust and ashes.”
-- Job 42:5,6
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