Encouragement

Today's project: taking all the encouragement I can get in any form the Lord wants to send it!

Encouragement came my way today in a number of different forms. Many dear friends let me know they are praying for us after yesterday's collision; and in turn, I felt encouraged by praying for the needs of my dear friends Linda and DeAnna and their families! As Christians we eagerly accept our marching orders to pray for one another without ceasing, because it is good for us; it is true soul nourishment to do so. I know I feel able to avoid being wrapped up in my own adverse circumstances when I focus on and pray for another person. Yet another gift from our loving Lord!

Have you ever felt encouraged just by making a decision or taking action? That was my experience this morning, after spending way too much time last night (when I should have been sleeping) figuring out what to do! At the same time I began perking the coffee, I finally shut off the 3 day crockpot of simmering tomato sauce and poured it all out into a container to freeze--no time for canning! After my devotional reading, prayer and posting verses from Acts 20 [where Paul raised Eutychus from the dead after talking the poor young man to sleep and picking him up off the pavement where he'd fallen three stories out of a window] onto my Facebook profile, I was again reminded that our God is able!

With my neck and upper back whiplash pain from the accident, I was a bit skittish about undertaking a planned drive into Santa Fe Springs Thursday night, so I called Kriss and told him we wouldn't be at the wedding rehearsal. After all, the parents of the groom don't have any specific ceremonial roles, but to smile and encourage our child! Kriss understood, and his best man will deliver the luggage we're loaning and the hidden surprise inside, for us. Another decisive action=more encouragement to go forward, not stand still!

The next action was tough: officially putting our beloved RV up for sale, a step we had hoped to avoid. "Moving on" means in this case, that an ad with a picture will be in the Press Enterprise for two weeks; then if it doesn't sell, we get another two weeks free! Wow!

Have you noticed that once you follow the Lord's lead and appropriate just the amount of courage you need for today, that each step seems clearer than the last, direction gets firmer, and you sense that He truly goes before you?

There is not going to be anything easy about rearranging our lives, whether it's the continual gathering and faxing of records or the inevitable lengthy phone conversations. So many of our brothers and sisters are walking this road right now alongside Steve and me, though the causes and circumstances vary widely, as we vary from one another! But unlike "those who have no hope" (I Thessalonians 4:13b) we awaken each day with fresh strength, as our heavenly Father smiles upon us and says, "I am walking before you, my child!"