August 19

Happy Monday. I hope you had a great weekend. I helped my daughter move my granddaughter to Austin, Texas into her dorm room to begin her freshman year of college. Mercy, did that bring back memories and a whole host of emotions—She’s a very bright girl who is on a generous academic scholarship to an elite private institution, but goodness that a long ways away and she should be 4 years old! 


“Children are a heritage from the Lord, offspring a reward from him. Like arrows in the hands of a warrior are children born in one’s youth. Blessed is the man whose quiver is full of them. They will not be put to shame when they contend with their opponents in court.” Psalm‬ ‭127:3-5‬ ‭NIV‬‬


While I was in Austin I got to have dinner with one of my dearest friends (we first met 44 years ago and for years we were inseparable). We were talking about all sorts of things (for hours) but in particular, she gave me some great advice. “Pam, if God has it planned for you, it will happen. You and I have a tendency to try to take things in our own hands and try to make it happen, but if God wants it to happen, you don’t have to force it!” 


How often do we approach our lives like we are the general contractor and God is the subcontractor doing what we tell Him and then, we blame Him when things don’t go the way we think they should?It looks so appealing from the outside: we get the credit and the illusion of control! But it’s exhausting to keep up false appearances -- that God is our hired help -- and unless we place Him where He belongs in our hearts as LORD and humbly accept His unmerited love, our promised inheritance of rest is out of reach. The multitude of our responsibilities will keep our lamps on late into the night, wake us before dawn, and our breakfast, lunch, dinner, and midnight snack will be the same crumbly “bread of anxious toil”. 


But thankfully, God is not like us. He is all-powerful, never sleeping, not even a single little nap in the car. He doesn’t get hungry or have to stop for gas. We can trust all things to the one who formed the universe and close our eyes at night in faith even when our to-do list sprawls all over the bed before us, begging for our attention. We can work from a place of peace each day knowing joyfully that it isn’t all up to us, and we can rest our souls in Him because: “...God gives rest to his loved ones.” Psalms‬ ‭127:2‬ ‭NLT‬‬


Father in Heaven, thank you for children—ours and those we get to share with others! What a blessing they are for us. Help us Lord to put you in charge of our lives and let you direct them In the way you’d have us to go, and not force a round peg into a square hole. We ask you for your forgiveness when we have tried to take control of our lives and then when it all blew up on our faces, we blamed you. You and only you can see from the vantage point of present and future, therefore you and only you know the perfect decisions for us to make. We love you Lord and we pray for the school kids who are just starting their year. We ask you’d bless it for them and help them grow in your grace and knowledge. We ask you to forgive us Lord when our attitude toward others has been bad and we have withheld good from them. Teach us to be more like you today Lord. Amen and amen.


Love you dear one,

Pam

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