Category: Daily Devotionals

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Day 6: The Delight

“DELIGHT thyself also in the LORD; and he shall give
thee the desires of thine heart.” Psalm 37:4

Do you remember from several years ago when I did a 31 day mini-devotional series on “The Deadly D’s?” Well, I could not leave you in the deep doldrums of despair forever, so I ended up writing a 31 day mini-devotional series on “The    Dynamic D’s.” Ahh, such a more up-lifting series!

When you hear the word delight, what is the first thing that pops into your mind? Be honest! Shall I be honest too? Chocolate DELIGHT! Can you tell that I love chocolate (the real kind … not the fake dollar store kind)? I also love baking and I love desserts. So, if I had to choose a favorite dessert, it would be this one!

What I am actually looking for here are answers that define the word delight. To delight in something is to be greatly pleased with or satisfied in. As a verb, it brings excitement and even captivates. As a noun, we see joy and happiness. Now there is a word that we need to study one day soon … happiness. Social media is over-flowing with quotes and writings on making yourself happy. YOU deserve happiness … so the world likes to tell us.

Did you notice, in our verse, the word that follows delight? It says to “delight THYSELF.” If only this verse stopped right there then we all would be happy, right? Why is self happiness such a scarcity today? Why do we see plastered all over social media encouragement to make yourself happy? Do you find it hard to make yourself happy? Personally, I find it pretty easy. Why? Because I know what pleases me and my sinful flesh LOVES to bring delight to self.

But, David did not stop there. No, David, kept going. I believe that David had already learned first hand about bringing delight to his sinful flesh, did he not? He had already been down that road and learned the hard way that bringing delight to ones flesh is very short lived … and carries many consequences. Moses also learned that the pleasures of sin only lasted for a season (Hebrews 11:25).

I believe that David clarified himself here, not only as a reminder to himself, but as a testimony and warning to others who followed behind him.  For he did not stop with only two words, but went on to say in whom we are ultimately to bring delight to … and that was to our LORD. Do you remember Him? Your Yahweh. Your mighty One.

As we close for today, I wanted to bring out one more thought that has stuck in my mind regarding this phrase. David is telling us to bring delight to ourselves … through bringing delight to our LORD (this is the key). This should not be a hard task for those of us who are saved. Why is this? Because we should already know what pleases our LORD. Am I not correct? As a Christian, we should already be spending time with our LORD in prayer, in church, in Bible reading, and in studying of His Word. How else can we know what brings delight to Him? There is no other way!

If you find yourself struggling with delight (joy and happiness) in your life, my friend, maybe it is time to take David’s advice and start delighting and bringing delight to our LORD! It is not too late! Start today!

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Day 5: The Trust

“TRUST in the LORD, and do good; so shalt thou dwell in
the land, and verily thou shalt be fed.” Psalm 37:3

The word trust appears 188 times in the Kings James Bible. Twenty-five of those say “trust in the LORD” or “trusting in the LORD.” What is the significance of the number? I have no idea. But I do know that He must want us to trust Him if He even mentions it only one time. So, let us trust Him today, my friend!

Trust means to believe in something; have confidence in something. Trust may be easily defined, but trust is not easily practiced. Putting feet to our trust or our faith in God is not always an easy thing. What are some areas that you struggle with a full and complete trust in God in? Is it your finances? Or maybe your health? What about your marriage or your wayward or rebellious child? Could it be your time or maybe even your talents? The question is, “Can you completely trust God in all things?” The answer is, “Yes! You can!”

David goes on to tell us who we are to trust in … and it is not self and it is not man, as we are made to so readily believe! We are to “trust in the LORD.” Did you notice the capitalization of LORD? Do you remember what that means? It means Yahweh … a very sacred form of God. We are not to trust in just any lord, but THE LORD. Our Yahweh. Our mighty God.

I have lived my entire life in ministry. I grew up as a missionary and preacher’s kid. I married a preacher, who for the first 6 years of our marriage served as an assistant pastor. Then for the past 23 years, we have been missionaries. Does this make me special or a super Christian? Most definitely not! I am just as human as the next person. I have my faults and failures … I too have my trust issues … so please do not look too closely or you may find more than you wanted to find.

In ministry, there are a myriad of things that one must trust the LORD for. One of these is finances. You learn quickly in ministry that money does not grow on trees … if you find the person who started this lie, I mean rumor, please let me know! Another thing that you learn quickly is that money has dry seasons and sometimes those dry seasons run on for endless amounts of time … I believe, they must have roots in South Texas! Sadly, money is also fickle. It cannot always be trusted.

I was chatting with someone the other day and the subject came up about money and ministry. Their support was dwindling due to their age … not their activity level. I encouraged them with this very verse … “TRUST in the LORD, and [continue; do not give up on] do[ing] good; so shalt thou [continue to live and minister and] dwell in the land [where God has called you to], and verily [without a doubt] thou shalt be fed [by the very hand of your LORD, your YAHWEH].”

One thing is for certain. No matter our walk of life, we will have many opportunities to either trust the LORD completely or not to trust Him. What are you needing to trust the LORD completely in, my friend? Please take it to Him! He will never fail you. NEVER!

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Day 3: The Evildoer

“Fret not thyself because of evildoers, neither be thou
envious against the workers of iniquity.” Psalm 37:1

This month we will be focusing on this chapter in the book of Psalm. The entire book of Psalms is a comfort and encouragement to us as Christians, but this chapter is especially rich with many golden nuggets for us to glean from. I can picture David now sitting before his keyboard pondering what to share in this chapter. We find that his musings drew him down a long, winding path that day.

As I mentioned a couple of days ago, writers often will share their story … or at the least, their particular style will be   evident. This is the way that David wrote. He had his own style of writing and more often than not, he shared his personal experiences. Personal life experiences can be complete game changers in our lives as Christians. It has been said that we cannot live long enough to learn everything so we must also learn from the lives of others. So, let us see what we can learn from David today!

First, let us look at the word evildoer. The word is a compound word. What is a compound word? Two words put together but when separated mean a completely different thing. Well, that is good to know! So how do we apply it to this word? Well, we do not. Why? Because that rule would not apply here. The definition of evildoer is a person who commits       immoral or wrong deeds. What are the definitions of evil and doer? Evil is what is immoral or wrong. A doer is a person that acts upon something or simply does something. So an evil doer would mean the exact same thing as evildoer does! Interesting!

In this day and age, we have become very proficient with words, have we not? We can make them sound like whatever we want them to sound like with no regards to what we really mean or whether we even mean them or not. “Are we  going to see you in Sunday School on Sunday?” “Yes.” But, then you never show up. Does this sound familiar? So, even a simple three letter word can make us into an evildoer. No matter what we say, our actions will always speak louder! They will always show the truth in our hearts and minds. Beware, my friend!

What else do we see in this verse? “Fret not.” Did David have to be so blunt … especially at the very beginning? Could he not have watered it down a bit to make it easier to swallow? Evidently he could not. So, that leaves it in our ballcourt to digest and to put into practice. This is a hard one. I tend to be a worrier and over-analyze everything. When it comes to those doing evil around and to me, it does not help make it any easier either.

I tend to worry over the why. “Why are these people like this to me, God?” “Why do you not judge them, God?” “Why do they get away with acting and treating me like this, God?” “Why, why, why?!” Is this ringing a bell? Maybe you and I need to find our faces on the ground in prayer today asking God to take all the worry and fret from our thoughts and our hearts. Instead, let us find peace through our obedience … “fret not.” Let us find hope and rest in God’s promise … “for evildoers shall be cut off …” Psalm 37:9 Amen!

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Day 2: The Psalm

Throughout the book of Psalms, David’s struggles become very real, do they not? David is very open and very blunt, if you will. Many of the Psalms begin with questions expressing his grief and his struggle with different things in his life. Psalm 2 begins with “Why do the heathen rage …?” Psalm 3 “Lord, how are they increased that trouble me!” Psalm 4 “Hear me when I call, O God …” and even Psalm 13 “How long wilt thou forget me, O Lord? for ever?”

Did you notice something here? David is teaching some very important lessons for you and I as Christians. Let us take a closer look at some of these:

1. David’s grievance was not public. It did not say that he was crying to his neighbors, the milk man or the world-wide web via Facebook and other social media. No, my friend. He was crying out to his Lord and his God. How often do you and I get ahead of ourselves and air our dirty laundry for (literally) the whole world to see and know? It makes us feel good, right? We have everyone jumping in to console and agree with us. Before we know it, our heads are so big that we cannot even walk through the doorway … at least that is what I have been told before! If you find me in this place, please kindly stop and say a prayer for me!

      Please do not take me wrong. But I truly believe that if I bring everything to Him first, and my pastor or a close confidante second to pray with me about, things work out for the better. I find that there is no need to publicize my grief, but instead I can publicize my rejoicing for help that I received from the Almighty. I am in no way saying that we are not to grieve and that no one can know about it. But what I am saying is, we too often get it out of order. Be   careful, my friend! If we want God to take care of our problems, let us go to Him first! Matthew 6:33 “But seek ye first the kingdom of God …”

2. David was honest with God. How many times have we tried to hide things from God? What we have done? Our    feelings? When did we forget that God sees and knows all things? “… the Lord looketh on the heart.” I Samuel 16:7

      In this honesty, we see also how we are to pray to God. Prayer is simply talking to God, is it not? Did David use fancy words? Did he plan out his sentences so that they flowed just right? No, but he did open his heart wide open and talked openly and honestly about his feelings.

3. David’s sorrows turned into rejoicing. Have you noticed in a number of the Psalms that David wrote that he started out sharing his groanings and before the chapter was finished, he was sharing his rejoicings? He started out focused on self and ended up focused on God! Wow! How great a lesson this would be for you and I to learn? There is no good found in self or man. The only good found on this earth is found in Him!

Have you found yourself in a public place? Have you forgotten that God not only sees, but He cares and He does answer prayers? Pleasures can be found in seeking man’s approval or building self up to a higher place. Those are only temporary though, my friend! God wants you to experience the permanent! Go to Him first!

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Day 1: The Writer

“Ye are our epistle written in our hearts, known
and read of all men.” II Corinthians 3:2

I am not sure that I was born a writer and I did not start writing as soon as I could. No. When it comes to writing, I am a late bloomer. Not as late as some, but definitely later than most! Why did I become a writer? Well, I have written ladies Bible study lessons before and even girls Sunday School lessons. But it was not until a year and a half ago that I dedicated myself to writing a devotional every day.

For a writer, writing can be an easy thing. It will just flow. It will also hit you at the most inopportune times … like sitting in the church pew and your fingers are itching to get to a keyboard as the thoughts and verses flow freely from something that the pastor has said. Yes, I have found myself in this place a time or two! I have also found that “writer’s block” is a very live thing and not just a figment of my imagination. Yikes! Yes, it is for real!

When pondering and seeking God’s direction for the devotions this month, I will be honest and say, that nothing was  coming up. Oh, I have plenty of themes running through my head, and I even have them on paper. But, none were     jumping out at me. Then a friend shared Psalm 37 with me and my analytical mind kicked into gear.  My mind immediately begins to calculate … here are 40 verses in this chapter and there are 30 days in June. Can I squeeze 30 devotions out of just this one chapter? Well, I guess we shall find out because here we are!

Who is the writer of Psalm 37? David is. Out of the 150 Psalms, David is known to have written anywhere from 73-85 of them. So, we can say, with close accuracy, that David wrote half of the book of Psalms. Even though David takes the lead in the book of Psalms, he is not the most written in the Bible. Paul holds that title.

I will be speaking to a ladies group in North Texas the beginning of June and then an older ladies Sunday School class later in June in Indiana. If the Lord allows, I will also be speaking in one session at a Christian Writer’s Workshop at our church in August. Since I like to plan ahead, I have already been thinking and praying about what to speak on and God is definitely starting to “stir the waters” (this is my favorite phrase these days)!

Where do most writer’s ideas and content come from? From knowledge, am I right? I like to follow some bloggers and devotionists and I have thought to myself before, “How in the world do they come up with all that content?” Well, now that I also write, I know how. They read, they learn, and they experience. They do not just makeup things … unless maybe if they are writing fiction, but even that has an element of truth or fact to it.

Whether you realize it or not, you are a writer. Every single day of your life, you are writing a story for others to read. As I thought about David as a writer, I wondered if he ever realized that God would one day use him to write so much of the Scripture that we have today? What about you, my friend? Is your story something that God can use to reach others? How far-reaching will your story be?

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Portraits of Grace – Bettina Shue

I was needing one more devotional for the month, so I am going to close out the month by sharing God’s “Portrait of Grace” in my life. We have a lot of new ones who have joined us this past month and there may be many others who have not heard this story of grace yet.

I grew up in Alaska as a missionary/pastor’s daughter. I went off to Bible College at Bob Jones University at the age of 17. The 2nd semester of my sophomore year I was experiencing some back discomfort. I had gone to a chiropractor before at home, so when my parent’s came to visit that spring, they took me. Come to find out, that back discomfort was coming from having a massive ovarian tumor. It was so large that it was pushing all of my organs out of the way and was pressing up against my aorta. The doctors felt like it was something that needed to be dealt with right away, so surgery was set up … for Friday, the 13th! All went well during the surgery. They were able to completely remove the tumor. The doctor    predicted it to be the size of a 6 month fetus. I do not remember them saying for sure after the surgery, but I do know that I immediately lost 20 pounds!

This really was a turning point in my spiritual life. It was definitely a time of growing and trusting God. It was then that I started a spiritual journal with scripture that God gave me and other thoughts that strengthened and encouraged me at that time. With each entry I made, I would date it. The following year, I was going back through my journal and I noticed the date that I found out that I had that massive tumor. It was March 6. My mind then began to calculate 365 days later … again on March 6 … what took place. It was exactly one year to the date later that I met my husband! It was like God was reassuring me that even though I had gone through a sad time, He had not forgotten me and had blessed me with a happy time on that 1 year anniversary.

When the doctors did the surgery, they told me that I may have a problem getting pregnant because of scar tissue that I had from an appendectomy at age 13. After I married, we did not try to start a family right away. But, when we did, I visited the doctor to test to see if there would be a problem. There was a slight problem, which actually turned into a   major problem because my tube got infected and ruptured after the test.

It was very disappointing to be told that I would never physically be capable of conceiving a child naturally. But, God gave us grace and unbelievable peace that if He wanted us to have a child, He would provide. He did! Just barely a year later (I should go back and check those dates), we were put in contact with a young woman who was considering putting her  baby up for adoption upon birth.

To make a long story short, God blessed us with that baby girl! We got to see her and hold her in our arms for the very first time when she was 10 days old. She stole our hearts and the hearts of our family! I do not have the space to share all the details and miracles that God performed for this blessing to happen to us, but be assured that God’s grace is as mighty as God Himself! So, my friend, rest in His grace!

We have not seen our daughter’s birth mom since then. But, for Mother’s Day this year (24 years later), I wanted to express my gratitude to her for sharing her beautiful daughter with us. So with my friend Debbi’s help, we have written a poem entitled A Tale of Two Mothers.

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Portraits of Grace – Darlene Fanning

My name is Darlene Fanning and my family has been missionaries in Bolivia, South America, since 1999. We lived in Bolivia for 14 years, raising our three children there. My husband is now also the Latin and South American director for Anchor Baptist Missions International, with Bolivia being our main focus. So we do a lot of traveling back and forth.

I CAN TRUST JESUS

     A few months ago, I did a ladies meeting where the theme was “Stand in Awe…….Be Amazed.” So I started thinking of all the blessings that I have stood in awe of and have been amazed at how the Lord worked in them. I decided to look the word “Awe” up. I was surprised to find that the word awe can be used for fear and wonder. So then I started to think of the difficult times that I have faced that have made me stand in awe in fear! Of course, the one that came to my mind was….sitting in a doctor’s office in Bolivia, hearing the words, “I’m sorry you have malignant breast cancer. You need to get to the United States quickly because I’m afraid it has already spread.”

     It’s one of those moments you see your whole life pass in front of your eyes in a matter of seconds. That moment you feel as if you have been kicked in the stomach and the air you breathe is gone. It seemed the next few days were filled with phone calls to the states, travel arrangements, Dr. appointments, scans, and telling our family. Standing in awe with fear of what was to come but being amazed at how God already knew the outcome and knowing that HE had a plan.

     In the early morning after hearing those fearful words, the Lord woke me up. I’m not sure I had really been asleep. My husband also was awake and we just talked a little bit about everything and cried and prayed. And then our Lord so      graciously, put the words to the song by the Collingsworth family, I Can Trust Jesus, in my heart. The words gave such peace that I can’t explain. We listened to the song over and over, as our wonderful Savior ministered to my heart.

     The next year was filled with surgeries, chemo, radiation, and so much more. But God!! God gave that peace that passeth all understanding. Philippians 4:7 After finishing chemo and radiation, we returned to Bolivia, praying that life would go back to normal. Within six months another spot had come up and the doctor there feared the worst and thought I should get it checked in the states. Returning to the states was again a standing in awe moment. After having it removed and a complete hysterectomy they found yet another spot. My oncologist was confused at what was going on and no explanation why tumors kept coming up. So thankful they were all pre-cancerous!

     If I learned anything thru my cancer journey, it is that I can trust Jesus and you can too. No matter what you are facing, His love and care is so evident. It would take a book to tell about all the things HE has done and is still doing with my life through this. Sometimes we think we are trusting Him, when really we are still trying to hold on to the steering wheel.

     When I found my life was completely out of my control, and there was absolutely nothing that I could do; it was then, I found that I could trust Jesus with my greatest fear!!! The peace I found in Him by trusting Him gave such comfort, just knowing, no matter the outcome, HE had this all under control!! The song says it best, “I can trust Jesus, He never once has failed to meet my needs. He is my strong tower the strength in my weakest hour I can trust Jesus, He takes care of me!!“

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Portraits of Grace – Skyla Gwyn

II Corinthians 12:9a “And  he said unto me, my grace is sufficient for thee: for my strength is made perfect in weakness.”

“Grace in Infertility”

 My name is Skyla Kristine Gwyn. I am 29 years old. I gave my life to the Lord as a young teen and surrendered my life to His service. He blessed me with a wonderful husband 10 years ago.  God in his time has also blessed our home with children, but I will save those details for later.

The apostle Paul spoke of God’s grace being perfected in our weakness and infirmities. I’m certain the details of Paul’s life did not go the way he had planned yet he pinned the words to II Corinthians 12:9 and Romans 8:28.

From the time Luke and I married we asked God for children. I imagined little versions of us running through our home. But months of waiting quickly turned to years. In my weakness, I grieved every pregnancy announcement and baby shower invite. The doctors never had any answers for why it wasn’t happening. It was truly out of our hands and in God’s. I struggled to understand what God had planned for us. Many sleepless nights of crying and praying seemed to lead to no answer, but God was there the whole time with His sufficient grace, helping me through my time of weakness.

After five years God led us into foster care. We had 11 different children pass through our home, one of which was a 4-week old baby boy who we loved for a year before he returned home to his biological family. More heartbreak, bitterness knocking on my heart, God once again stepped in with sufficient grace. We decided to give foster care one last try. The call came and three siblings ages 1, 3, and 5 were dropped off at our door. We were told we would have them two weeks at the most, but God and His sufficient grace had other plans for us and them!!! Two years later we stood before a judge and became a family officially! All of a sudden it became clear that all the struggles we had gone through was God’s way of showing His grace to these three little souls. If we had not struggled with infertility, we never would have entered into foster care, If we had not dealt with the losses of other children who had better family situations to go home to, we would have never met our three children. God knew what He was doing the whole time. He gave us grace through every step,  knowing that He was working it all for our good.

Just when I think God has shown all the Grace he has for me, he pours more and more on our lives. This past  December I took a trip to urgent care for suspected flu that I will never forget. God’s grace was so real again, as the nurse said, “ Ma’am both pregnancy tests were positive!” In a few more weeks we will meet our sweet baby boy. TO GOD BE THE GLORY!!!  This is the portrait of God’s grace in my personal life. He has a beautiful one to paint in yours too!

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Portraits of Grace – Trina Burgdoff

     With Trina’s permission, I am posting this from her Facebook post: I don’t usually post our personal life like this but it’s been on my heart and I felt the need to share. If I can help one person, then I’ll know my struggles have a purpose! Bear with me….Here we go: I had a lot of medical issues after having Aria. I had endometriosis and after surgery the pain came right back. My doctor suggested “shutting me down” and putting me through early menopause. With that came a lot of side affects. Weight gain, change of texture of hair, mood swings, etc. After 4 months of being in early menopause, I started feeling weird so the doctor took me off the meds.

     The doctor said the next thing to help me with my endometriosis would be to try to get pregnant! My husband and I were ok with that but didn’t expect it to happen as fast as it did. We found out really early that I was pregnant. I had blood work to check my levels to make sure they were elevating, in which they were. I was very nauseous and very sick. April 25th I went in for my first ultrasound. My husband was out of town with military stuff, so I told him to keep his phone close by. The dreaded three words came out of the tech’s mouth “there’s no heartbeat.” I was in shock at first because I had no signs of this miscarriage. I’ve had a miscarriage before so I knew the signs to look for, but I had NONE of that.

     The technician then explained to me that I was supposed to be 9 weeks 2 days but the fetus was only measuring 6 weeks and 1 day. I then lost it. Our 2-year-old daughter was in the room with me. How am I suppose to tell her that her “sister” had no heartbeat? She was so excited for a “baby sister.” She hugged me and said “mommy don’t feel good.” I left it at that. I’ll explain to her later. Now I had to call my husband. How was I supposed to hold it together to tell him such bad news? We didn’t even have each other to physically lean on because he was out of town. That was a hard phone call to make, but we survived.

     I went in to talk to the doctor (who was so nice and showed so much empathy). Because I didn’t have any signs of a miscarriage, he wanted to give me another week to see if I would miscarry naturally. A week later, still no symptoms of a miscarriage, so I went back in for another ultrasound. Thankfully my husband was back and he could be there. We heard the three dreaded words again “there’s no heartbeat.“ The baby had not grown plus this tech showed us how there was no blood flow to the sac. At this point, the doctor gave us 3 options to miscarry. We chose an option, but the first attempt didn’t work so I had to do it again. It was emotionally and mentally so hard!

     Through this whole process, I’ve tried to not question God because God has a plan for us all. He knows the ending. But as a human, I’ve been trying to figure it all out, but that’s been putting more of a stress on myself. I’ve put the guilt on myself questioning, “What did I do?” “Was there something wrong with the baby?” “Is something wrong with me?” “Am I not capable or strong enough for two kids?” “Am I not doing what God wants me to do?” This is where the devil has attacked me and gotten in my head, gotten in our marriage by trying to get me to lean on him instead of the One that I’m supposed to.

     I didn’t share this story for sympathy. I don’t know who needs to read this but the devil attacks the ones he knows are growing closer to God. I’m not sure why we had to experience what we’ve been through but this is our story. Maybe someone else is going through the exact same thing and needs to know they are not alone. Whether it be a miscarriage, infertility, whatever it may be!!!! YOU ARE NOT ALONE!!!

     To say this has been easy and that my faith has been so strong would be a lie. There have been a lot of weak moments for me the past couple of weeks. I do want to say  thank you for the ones who have reached out to us and who have prayed for us!

     I want to end this on a positive to show you where I am right now. Through all this, it has been a rollercoaster of emotions, of pain, of frustration, of sadness, and of anger. But at the end of the day, we have a beautiful daughter who God has blessed us with. He gave her to me when I didn’t want a child. He knew the puzzle piece that was missing in mine and my husband’s life. Although my heart breaks because I won’t be able to hold our daughter’s “sister” in November, I am forever grateful that God allowed our daughter in my arms the past two years. God continues to touch our lives! Our story isn’t over yet. Move over, devil, you didn’t win this one!!

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Portraits of Grace – Sheila Velez

      It is a pleasure to be able to share with you all today! Thank you, Mrs. Bettina, for this opportunity. My name is Sheila  Velez. My husband and I have been in the same church, which he now pastors, for the last 28 years. The Lord has blessed us with 3 children, and although we have failed him, He has never failed us!

      Today I would like to share a little of my testimony in hopes that it will be of help to some of you out there. My husband and I were married in 1994, and in 2003 we found out that we were expecting our third child. What excitement! The first three months, all went well. Our little one was growing and weaving herself into our hearts. At four months, tragedy stuck my life. My grandfather passed away. He was one of my favorite people, and I didn’t want to miss his funeral, so I quickly made an appointment the next day with the doctor to get the okay to make the trip. The technician did her routine ultrasound, and then called the PA. After a few minutes, they called the doctor. I was frustrated and confused. Didn’t they know that I was in a hurry to get on the road! As the doctor reviewed the ultrasound, she looked at me and says, “We’re going to hospitalize you. There is no fluid in your sac, and everything is in tact. Something isn’t right, so I need to run some tests.” My frustration level soared! My thoughts were… “Just give me an IV of fluids and send me on my way!

      Needless to say, I didn’t make the trip. Little did I know that I was in for a God sent life lesson. Three days after I was admitted, the doctor came in and let us know our baby had cystic kidneys. We were told that more than likely we would miscarry. I was devastated! “How God?! How can this happen to me?! You know that I want to raise this baby for You! How is it that children are born every day to parents who have no intention of raising them for the You, yet You take mine?” These are the conversations that I had with God. I am not proud of this, but I want to be honest. This was my attitude until one day during a message, the preacher read this verse – “For by him were all things created, that are in heaven, and that are in earth, visible and invisible, whether they be thrones, or dominions, or principalities, or powers: all things were created by him, and for him: And he is before all things, and by him all things consist.” Honestly, I don’t know what the message was about that night, but God used this verse to give me an attitude adjustment. As I read, God seemed to speak in my ear with a firm voice as a father would as he corrects his child. He said, “Who do you think you are to tell me what to do with my own creation? Your baby is mine and was created by me and for me. Her life will be for my glory!” Right there…God gave me peace! A peace I hadn’t had. He didn’t whisper in my ear, “Your baby will be healed.”…but…He did tell me, “I’m in control, and everything is going to be ok.” That night I slept like a baby…finally resting in Him!

      Needless to say, I didn’t have a miscarriage. At 8 months, my doctor induced labor, and on February 23, 2004, a very light skinned, red-headed little girl named Grace was born. After giving her a kiss, she was rushed to the NICU. Our church heard the news and all rushed to the hospital. We told the NICU that we had a very large family, and they allowed them in two by two. As our Brothers and Sisters in Christ patiently waited, they shared God’s love with others in the waiting room, and 5 precious souls were saved! Although our precious Grace visited us for only 16 hours, the lives she touched is eternal! Through this, I learned His ways are perfect! She will never know the pain of this sinful world, for she was raised in a Heavenly world by her Heavenly Father. She cannot come to us, but by God’s grace, we shall see her again! I encourage you today, to stop questioning His sovereignty and Trust Him! May you have a blessed day!