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| Anschutz Thomas Pollock |
I know the Lord has many ways of showing His love for His children. But the language that really causes me to blush over my Savior's love for me is the answering of the simple, quiet prayers that only He hears. He cares about them and He blesses.
Just recently He's flooded my life with "little nothings" that have made me feel loved, treasured. Some are silly, some are practical and some are "bigger." But all are from His hand.
A couple of weeks ago I was quietly wishing that I had more time to spend with my girlfriends. My mind played tricks on me to the point of thinking that I didn't even have any friends. (Ridiculous! But true.) The Lord heard my quiet heart and the next Sunday Jamie had some extra video work to do at the church. It caused us to stay late, which in turn gave me ample opportunity to catch up with several dear friends. It was just what I needed. The icing on the cake was a request from my brother in Slovenia. "Wanna Skype?" And I spent a delightful hour visiting with Johnny, Brooke and Kinsley. Again, just what my heart needed.
Another need that I've come to acknowledge is one for true rest. One of the problems with homeschooling is that the kids are always, well . . . home. Now, don't get me wrong. I adore my children, and I love homeschooling them. But I'd be lying if I said it was all roses. Sometimes Mama just needs a break. I wrote of this desire while praying one morning. But I was even more specific than "Give me a break!" I wanted rest and quiet . . . but I wanted to be at home. Home is where I feel truly relaxed, truly at peace.
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| John William Waterhouse |
Enter the grandparents. My parents had scheduled a weekend to take the girls tubing at Mt. Hood as part of their Christmas present. I was looking forward to at least half of the quiet when it dawned on me that it would be pretty easy to pawn the boys off on my dear in-laws. They were game (literally -- they spent the whole time watching football, much to Drew's delight) and Jamie and I had 24 hours to ourselves this past weekend.
He totally understood my desire to have a simple, cozy "retreat," and the only thing scheduled was an early dinner out. He took me to a new (to me) restaurant in Portland called Produce Row Cafe. It was fun and yummy and very foggy (which added a lovely element of hushed mystery). The rest of our evening was spent cozily lazing about with movies, a crackling fire and chocolate fondue. He even made me breakfast the next morning. I kept my robe on as long as I wanted to and nursed my mug of tea while gazing -- mesmerized -- out the window at the delicate icy-white frost that had blanketed the yard overnight. I couldn't stop thanking God for this perfect answer to my prayer.
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| John William Waterhouse |
The 24 hours were up, but the Lord still had one more little gift in mind. While meeting my parents to pick up the girls, my mom handed me a brown paper bag. "Light bulbs! For the projector!" I laughed. A friend, who is a teacher, had mentioned that her school is phasing out the overhead projectors. She read my recent post and started stockpiling. I love it.
As I was journaling that morning, I found myself in the Psalms. I felt as though Psalm 10:17 was a sweet reminder that God does care about my needs, no matter how small. And He meets them.
You hear, O Lord, the desire of the afflicted; you encourage them, and you listen to their cry.
Although I didn't exactly feel "afflicted" and I wasn't quite crying out for help, He still heard and He still encouraged. As my grandma would say, "It was so dear of the Lord to do that for me." Wasn't it?
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