Proverbs 3:27a

"Never walk away from someone who deserves help; 

your hand is God's hand for that person." 

Proverbs 3:27a (The Message)

Your hand is God's hand for that person, but it's also a wonderful opportunity to get to know someone you might not have ever known. 

I met Sharon one day as I was driving down the road in the middle of the hot summer. Sharon was walking along the side of the road struggling to carry some plastic grocery bags. I was on my way somewhere and at first I thought, "I don't have time to help her right now. Besides, she's a stranger and this day and age, one shouldn't pick up strangers." Then I realized I had our rather large dog with me in the car. So, I decided to take the risk and offer Sharon a ride. 

She was so thankful for my help! And she didn't live far from where we were at all. We chit-chatted for a bit, she said, "God bless you for your help." I said, "God bless you too!" and we parted ways.

Several months later, I was again, driving down the road. Only this time it was bitter cold and it was snowing. Lo and behold - who did I see walking down the road but Sharon. Without hesitating this time, I picked her up and gave her a ride. I was on my way to bring my daughter her lunch she had forgotten at home and had my middle son (whom I home school) in the car with me. She just needed to go to the bank and to the grocery store. So, we ran over to the school, brought my daughter her lunch and then took Sharon to do her errands. Only this time, I remembered to give her my number and told her to call me if she ever needed a ride again. She, in turn, gave me her number and said if I'm ever going to the mall to give her a call as she liked to go there sometimes but didn't have transportation. (As a side-note, the only transportation our town has is a taxi-cab, which gets pretty expensive.) 

Again, a couple months go by and today I decided to take my middle son shopping for some clothes at the mall, but I'm in a bit of a hurry so don't call Sharon because I didn't know how long she would want to be there. Guess who I saw walking down the road as we headed out? Yup. Sharon! I took that as a sign and picked her up again. We ran to her bank and then she joined us for our trek to the mall. I'm so thankful I picked her up today! I learned so much more about her and what a wonderful woman she is! 

I think a real friendship is going to blossom from these encounters. :-)

Just a note: Do I think it is wise to just randomly pick up strangers as you're driving? No, I do not. But, when you hear that still, small voice and you know you can keep yourself safe then I think it's fine. Do I recommend young people, such as teenagers do this? No way! The only reason I did it the first time was because I had my dog with me and I know she'd protect me. Upon getting to know her, I discovered her to be a very sweet, little lady. I would not, however, ever pick up a man when I'm alone, nor would I pick up a woman if I got any strange feelings about her. God gave us intuition and mine seems to be pretty right on, so I'll just keep trusting God to lead me to whom I should or shouldn't help. :-)

Deuteronomy 4:29-31

"...if you seek God, your God, you'll be able to find him if you're serious, 

looking for him with your whole heart and soul.  

When troubles come and all these awful things happen to you, 

in future days you will come back to God, your God, 

and listen obediently to what he says. [emphasis mine] 

God, your God, is above all a compassionate God. 

In the end he will not abandon you, he won't bring you to ruin..." 

Deuteronomy 4:29-31 (The Message)

I bolded the above sentence because this verse really stuck out with me when I read this. This is part of why I haven't written in the last few days. I've just been mulling this verse over in my mind and haven't been able to figure out what to say, yet having so much I need to say about this verse. I finally decided the best way to figure out what to say is to just start writing. So, here I am, hoping the Lord helps me get my thoughts to straighten out as I go. :-)

"When troubles come and all these awful things happen to you, 

in future days you will come back to God, 

your God and listen obediently to what he says." 

*insert sigh of relief here*

So, all the times I've had some awful times come my way He KNEW I was going to wander from Him and go through a period of "slavery" to my troubles, yet He ALSO knew I would come back to him. And ever better, He would meet me with compassion and not condemnation? He would be there for me and not abandon me? 

The picture this paints for me is so overwhelming that words can't even describe what I'm thinking and feeling right now. (And have been thinking and feeling for several days now.) 

That God knew that I would blame Him. I would even feel hatred towards Him, yet He still felt compassion for me during that time... well... that just blows my mind. 

I pretty much turned from God after my loss of Trystan (my 7th miscarriage). Bitterness entered my heart and I couldn't even sing in church. I went (sometimes) because I wasn't about to turn my family away from God. I knew what I was doing was wrong, but I also felt so powerless to stop it. I wanted to scream at God. I wanted Him to explain to me WHY He kept taking my babies from me. 

Oh, people told me God NEEDED my babies more than I did. No, he didn't! God doesn't NEED anything or anybody! And He certainly didn't NEED my babies! I had people tell me all sorts of platitudes - none of which made me feel better. And I just wanted to feel better! I wanted to know WHY! 

No one could tell me why and God certainly wasn't answering, so why should "I" give "him" the time of day?! Especially when He had to have known, yet another, loss would cause me to turn from my faith. He must have WANTED me to leave His side. So, I'd do Him a favor and leave Him alone.And I did. 

I stopped praying. I stopped reading my Bible. I would come up with any excuse I could not to have to go to church. And if I wasn't able to get out of it, I'd go through the motions, but inside I felt dead. I wasn't going to sing praise songs to a God who stole my babies from me. I wasn't going to pray to a God who seemed to answer all my prayers the opposite of what I asked for. I wasn't going to listen to a person preach about a God who THEY claimed was full of mercy and grace, when I sure didn't see His "amazing" mercy and grace in my life! 

But, then I kept hearing this still, small voice calling me back. I'd catch myself praying during the day and have to literally remind myself that I wasn't going to pray to THAT God anymore, so I'd stop. I'd talk to a friend who was going through a hard time and the next thing I knew, I was looking up a Bible verse to share with them and then remember I wasn't "supposed" to be doing that. Oh, I was in full-on rebellion all right!

Then my husband and I went on a retreat for people who have gone through the loss of their babies. I'll write more about that retreat another time, I'm sure, but tonight, I just want to say that this retreat caused me to come back to God, just as this passage talks about. When troubles came, I turned my back on God. But, "in future days" I came back to Him. And I'm trying to listen obediently to what He says.

I may never know why my babies had to die in my womb. But, you know what I do know? I know that God IS a compassionate God. I know that God DIDN'T abandon me. I know that God DIDN'T bring me to ruin. And yes... I know that God STILL loves me.

Matthew 25:35-40

‎"I was hungry and you fed me,
I was thirsty and you gave me a drink,
I was homeless and you gave me a room,
I was shivering and you gave me clothes,
I was sick and you stopped to visit,
I was in prison and you came to me...

Then the King will say, 'I'm telling the solemn truth: 
Whenever you did one of these to someone overlooked 
or ignored, that was me - you did it to me." 
Matthew 25:35-40 (The Message) 

Nothing else needs to be said.

Proverbs 14:21

"It's criminal to ignore a neighbor in need, 
but compassion for the poor - what a blessing!" 
Proverbs 14:21 (The Message) 

This verse is one I'm trying to live out and trying to teach my children. I think they're getting it and I LOVE seeing that! I've mentioned this before, but it brings tears to my eyes to remember it again... The other day, my boys made a HUGE meal for a homeless widow we saw sitting by the grocery store. They gave her a hug, the food and a Bible and then we all prayed with her. It was an amazing experience for them to actually LIVE out what this verse and so many others in the Bible talks about!

Exodus 22:21

"Don't mistreat widows or orphans. If you do and they cry out to me,
you can be sure I'll take them most seriously..."
Exodus 22:21 (The Message)

Makes me think of all the children in orphanages across the world who are mistreated, in particularly Haiti, as that's where my adopted children were born. And boy - was there some sick abuse going on there! As if their plight isn't bad enough, they get to have abuse added to their lives. It's heartbreaking to hear the stories I've heard about what goes on inside the walls of so-called "Christian" orphanages! The sinful side of me wishes I could see the punishment God has set aside for these people, but then I think... "What about the times where 'I've' disciplined out of anger. Sure, it's not anywhere near ABUSE, but I'm definitely not disciplining out of LOVE. 

Things to think about...