(Note - I wrote this piece last year for an online ministry wives forum, but it was never published. Please note that all of these events happened LAST YEAR, and we are all fine now. Evan is not sick! However, we will be at home this year again on the 4th of July because we just got home from vacation. So enjoy your fireworks wherever you may be!)
Do you ever feel as if God has orchestrated something just for you? It's a moment or perhaps a chance meeting. It's a verse that has been posted on social media at just the right time. It's a book that someone let you borrow months ago that you are just now reading, and you know it was meant for such a time as this. It's a "God wink," as some like to call it. I don't know if I'd call it that, but it's a place in time where you know the Lord had something special planned for you.
This was our Fourth of July last year. We weren't even supposed to be at home. Usually every Fourth, we travel to north Louisiana to see my dad and stepmom. It is one of the few chances during the year that I get to go to the area where I grew up, and we always enjoy seeing the fireworks over the lake and spending time with old friends.
However, last year Evan woke up on the morning we were supposed to leave with a fever. Since Evan has Down Syndrome and epilepsy, any kind of fever with him is scary. We weren't scheduled to leave until that afternoon, so I rushed him off to the doctor that morning just to make sure something major wasn't happening. All usual suspects were clear, but then the doctor asked, "How have his diapers been?" And therein was the problem. He had a stomach bug. After wrestling with the decision of whether or not to continue with the trip, we wisely decided to stay home. Zach was crushed, of course. He had looked so forward to not only time with his grandparents but also the fireworks and boat parade at the lake.
My husband and I discussed how we could possibly salvage the holiday so Zach would still get to enjoy part of the day. Stewart and Zach made a grocery run to get some burgers to grill for that night and then some meat to smoke for the Fourth. Then we decided that Stewart would take Zach to a movie on that day. All of that was fun, but we could tell Zach still really wanted to see fireworks. We tried to watch some on TV, but how exciting can that be? Finally as the sun was setting, we could hear our neighborhood start to erupt with sound. Every July 4th and New Year's Eve in our subdivision sounds like some sort of military conflict has begun because everyone is shooting off something. Generally it annoys us to no end, as we are trying to get children to sleep and are usually trying to get to sleep ourselves. This year, we tried something different. We pulled our beach chairs in our front yard and got to enjoy about 5 or 6 shows all around us! There was everything from gigantic, beautiful, almost professional like explosions to little smaller sparklers that thrilled us to no end. We oohed and ahhed like we were at a big-time fireworks show. And to top it all off, there was a storm brewing off in the distance! While the man-made fireworks were going off all around us, God was providing His own fireworks in the form of a lightening show! It was an awesome sight to behold!
As I watched this performance in the sky, I thought about the past month of our life. The month of June had been full of hard ministry - Vacation Bible School, several unexpected funerals, a couple of weddings, and a situation that had literally sapped me of all spiritual strength that I had. Honestly, I was exhausted. Tired of church. Tired of busyness. Tired of fake smiling my way through everything. And my usual tired of dealing with the constant demands of our special needs child. It sounds bad, I know. But just as the fireworks would put on a stunning show and then quickly disappear into ash, I was burned out. As I watched all of the fireworks around me, I realized anew that although the stuff around me seemed big and loud and at times scary, it was the stuff off in the distance that God was doing that brought me hope. God is always at work on our behalf. He is always healing. Always restoring. Always ready to renew us if we go to Him with our deepest hurts. His work is always more powerful than what may be swirling around us at the moment. It was a new month, and God was showing me that better days were on their way.
Yes, God had set it up for us to stay home for that holiday, and I am so glad He did. His masterpiece in the sky - both man made and God-made - was just for me. And I am eternally grateful that He knew just what I needed. Stay aware, and you, too, can see those moments He has orchestrated just for you!
Do you ever feel as if God has orchestrated something just for you? It's a moment or perhaps a chance meeting. It's a verse that has been posted on social media at just the right time. It's a book that someone let you borrow months ago that you are just now reading, and you know it was meant for such a time as this. It's a "God wink," as some like to call it. I don't know if I'd call it that, but it's a place in time where you know the Lord had something special planned for you.
This was our Fourth of July last year. We weren't even supposed to be at home. Usually every Fourth, we travel to north Louisiana to see my dad and stepmom. It is one of the few chances during the year that I get to go to the area where I grew up, and we always enjoy seeing the fireworks over the lake and spending time with old friends.
However, last year Evan woke up on the morning we were supposed to leave with a fever. Since Evan has Down Syndrome and epilepsy, any kind of fever with him is scary. We weren't scheduled to leave until that afternoon, so I rushed him off to the doctor that morning just to make sure something major wasn't happening. All usual suspects were clear, but then the doctor asked, "How have his diapers been?" And therein was the problem. He had a stomach bug. After wrestling with the decision of whether or not to continue with the trip, we wisely decided to stay home. Zach was crushed, of course. He had looked so forward to not only time with his grandparents but also the fireworks and boat parade at the lake.
My husband and I discussed how we could possibly salvage the holiday so Zach would still get to enjoy part of the day. Stewart and Zach made a grocery run to get some burgers to grill for that night and then some meat to smoke for the Fourth. Then we decided that Stewart would take Zach to a movie on that day. All of that was fun, but we could tell Zach still really wanted to see fireworks. We tried to watch some on TV, but how exciting can that be? Finally as the sun was setting, we could hear our neighborhood start to erupt with sound. Every July 4th and New Year's Eve in our subdivision sounds like some sort of military conflict has begun because everyone is shooting off something. Generally it annoys us to no end, as we are trying to get children to sleep and are usually trying to get to sleep ourselves. This year, we tried something different. We pulled our beach chairs in our front yard and got to enjoy about 5 or 6 shows all around us! There was everything from gigantic, beautiful, almost professional like explosions to little smaller sparklers that thrilled us to no end. We oohed and ahhed like we were at a big-time fireworks show. And to top it all off, there was a storm brewing off in the distance! While the man-made fireworks were going off all around us, God was providing His own fireworks in the form of a lightening show! It was an awesome sight to behold!
As I watched this performance in the sky, I thought about the past month of our life. The month of June had been full of hard ministry - Vacation Bible School, several unexpected funerals, a couple of weddings, and a situation that had literally sapped me of all spiritual strength that I had. Honestly, I was exhausted. Tired of church. Tired of busyness. Tired of fake smiling my way through everything. And my usual tired of dealing with the constant demands of our special needs child. It sounds bad, I know. But just as the fireworks would put on a stunning show and then quickly disappear into ash, I was burned out. As I watched all of the fireworks around me, I realized anew that although the stuff around me seemed big and loud and at times scary, it was the stuff off in the distance that God was doing that brought me hope. God is always at work on our behalf. He is always healing. Always restoring. Always ready to renew us if we go to Him with our deepest hurts. His work is always more powerful than what may be swirling around us at the moment. It was a new month, and God was showing me that better days were on their way.
Yes, God had set it up for us to stay home for that holiday, and I am so glad He did. His masterpiece in the sky - both man made and God-made - was just for me. And I am eternally grateful that He knew just what I needed. Stay aware, and you, too, can see those moments He has orchestrated just for you!
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| This man-made masterpiece was our favorite part of South Dakota! Mount Rushmore was our favorite site on our recent vacation! |
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