Be Careful What You Write....

In last Friday's Fall Back Into Faith post I talked about the joy of our faith and indicated I would write about our faith in a season of trials next Friday.  Then on Sunday I agreed to write to posts about fear for my amazing friend's devotional.

Then my week unraveled.  Did this happen because God wanted me to have fresh material with lots of fear and trials or because the devil would rather I be too overwhelmed to write words God might use?  Or neither? 

In any event, it has been a really hard week. 

Sunday, I got some disturbing health news from my father.  Monday, I got some disturbing work news at my job.  Tuesday, my nanny fell dramatically ill, and I had to rush home before she passed out.  Wednesday, Bray left for Canada for five days.

I was worried.  Fearful.  Alone.  Overwhelmed. 

I had the chance to work for about two hours yesterday morning between taking the kids to school and running to pick them and then tried to manage a couple of conference calls from home while keeping three toddlers quiet.  Ha.  For all my self-righteousness about not letting the children watch television, I now apologize.  If I were a stay at home or single mom, I would use the television a lot more than I do now.  I used it yesterday just to get through a 10 minute call. 

But here's the cool thing.  God always has an object lesson.  He sent me mine at the end of the day.  I made dinner, ate with the kids, played outside, gave baths, and then we watched a few minutes of a Disney movie together.  We all marched off to their room at bedtime.  Normally, I get on my knees with each child, ask for their prayer requests, and say prayers.  Last night, I suggested we all sit in a circle in the middle of the floor and say prayers.  They were thrilled.  Plus, I offered up some prayer requests of my own - we needed to pray for our nanny who was so sick and we needed to pray for daddy, grandfather, and uncle who were in Canada for the week.  Then, instead of folding our hands in prayer, I suggested we hold hands in the circle.  They were ecstatic about this proposal and we all held hands and prayed. 

There is this verse in the Bible, it's found in Matthew 18, and it says where two or more are gathered in God's name, there He is in the midst of them. 

That scripture emblazoned itself on my mind's eye as we prayed.  I instantly felt God there. Holding hands with my three precious children and lifting up our requests to God I was not worried or fearful or alone or overwhelmed.  I had God on my side.  I had three amazing children praying with me as they learn daily about God and His love. 

They crawled into their beds.  I told them stories and sang them songs as I sat in the rocker in their nursery that I have used to feed and comfort them since they came home from the hospital.  They fell asleep as I sang old hymns.  The one I left them with, and that stayed with me, is this: 

What a friend we have in Jesus,
All our sins and griefs to bear
What a privilege to carry
Everything to God in prayer
Oh, what peace we often forfeit,
Oh, what needless pain we bear
All because we do not carry
Everything to God in prayer