The Lord said to Moses, “I’m going to send you food from heaven like rain. Each day the people should go out and gather only what they need for that day. In this way I will test them to see whether or not they will follow my instructions. But on the sixth day when they prepare what they bring home, it should be twice as much as they gather on other days.” Exodus 16:4-5 (GW)
My husband and I joke that our marriage survived because we agreed that whoever filed for divorce had to take sole custody of the children! Knowing that it took two of us to deal with the three of them, we stayed married. Now that the children are grown, we remain together because whoever files must relinquish all grandparenting rights. Since neither one of us is willing to forfeit time with the delightful grands, we continue to remain together. All joking aside, we’ll soon be commemorating a half century of marriage.
For the next ten days, we will be in California, celebrating our fiftieth anniversary with our children and grands. Four families from four states will be there and it wasn’t easy finding several days when everyone could take time away from work, school, friends, sports and other obligations to get together. In fact, because of everyone’s busy schedules, we’re celebrating six weeks early. As I thought about how my children, their spouses and children had to make certain sacrifices and adjust their lives so we could gather as one family, I thought about my responsibilities. Not only do I owe my family my full attention, but I also want to enjoy every possible minute with them. Nevertheless, I also want to honor my commitment to this devotional blog. Knowing I can’t do justice to both, I took it to God in prayer and that still small voice whispered in my ear, “Summer reruns.”
This website has been a journey of faith for me. For several years, I’ve trusted God to provide my words on a regular basis. Like manna from heaven, the Holy Spirit has inspired my daily messages; I have no complaint since He’s given me well over 1,300 posts. With the Israelites’ manna, God wanted the people to trust His daily provision so any manna stored from one day to the next got worms and spoiled. For me, reusing any devotions seemed a bit like storing manna and showed a lack of faith in God’s provision. I then recalled that God allowed two days’ worth of manna to be gathered on the sixth day, so that the seventh day, the Sabbath, was truly a day of rest. Being mindful that the days with our loved ones are numbered and only God knows how many remain, the next ten days are going to be an extended Sabbath for my family and me. There may be some more reruns later this summer when my husband and I go for a “just the two of us” trip to the Canadian Rockies to complete our anniversary celebration.
God speaks to my heart as I write and I hope and pray my writing speaks to yours. Nevertheless, just as Scripture may speak to me in different ways on different days, my words may speak to you in different ways on different days, as well. Instead of gathering extra manna for the Sabbath, I gathered up some devotions from three years ago, did a little updating where necessary, and re-scheduled them. I pray you enjoy the summer reruns. Blessings, j
Recently, our pastor asked us to write down both a prayer concern and a joy that anonymously could be shared with the congregation. Once compiled on a sheet of paper, the list was made available to anyone who wanted to offer those worries, needs and joys to God in prayer. As expected, most of the joys had to do with family, friends, health, and God’s love and forgiveness. Most of the concerns also were what we’d expect: health and the health of loved ones, finances, government, family turmoil, and children. At our Florida church, we start our weekly Bible study with prayer requests and praise reports and the list from our northern church was remarkably similar with one glaring exception. One person wrote, “I’m always afraid.”
The “Last Lecture,” a tradition at many universities, is given by a professor as if it is the last one delivered in the speaker’s lifetime. Hoping to inspire the audience to become better versions of themselves, the lecturer usually reflects on his life’s journey and shares his hard-earned wisdom. New meaning was given to this tradition in 2007 when Randy Pausch, a professor at Carnegie Mellon University, gave what truly was his last lecture. Terminally ill with pancreatic cancer, he was dead less than a year after giving it.
“We can’t attack those people! They’re too strong for us! … The land we explored is one that devours those who live there. All the people we saw there are very tall. … We felt as small as grasshoppers, and that’s how we must have looked to them.” [Numbers 13:31-33 (GW)]
I recently happened upon a YouTube video about a goose and two police officers. A mother goose kept pecking at the window of a parked Cincinnati police car. When the officer opened the door, the goose led him over to one of her babies; it was tangled up in a string tied to a balloon. Concerned that mama goose would attack if he came close to the baby, the first officer stayed back. His partner was a woman and a mother; seeing the anguish of another mother, she went forward and carefully untangled the little gosling while its mama patiently watched and waited. Once free of the twine, the baby rejoined its siblings and the family swam off with their mother.
Devotions of the Heart 