Last winter, our 19-year-old son was very ill for an extended period of time. During that process, I learned that not only that I could not make enough chicken soup to make him well but about waiting on God for healing. And, God did heal and restore him—in His time, not mine.

Recently, our son had a routine visit to the optometrist resulting in a surprise diagnosis of Retina Pigmentosa. The optometrist was extremely concerned about the health of his vision and that a tumor might be the cause, and immediately made an appointment for him to see a retina specialist. Wham!! A hard gut punch to this mom’s stomach. So surprising, so unexpected, and oh so scary.

The specialist examined him and took some specialized digital pictures of his eye and then proceeded to tell us that we’d have to wait a couple of months and return for more pictures to see if there is any difference in the retina. Oh Lord…wait?.Again? We left this appointment not encouraged or discouraged, but in a holding pattern.

I continued to pray and soon God answered with His comfort and reassurance that He is our son’s Great Physician. My hopeful vision is that when we return to the specialist in a few months, all that will remain will be a faint smudge—God’s fingerprint!

Luke 12:22
Then Jesus said to his disciples: “Therefore I tell you, do not worry about your life, what you will eat; or about your body, what you will wear…”

What kind of “waiting room” experiences have you had? What was your first response? What did you learn?

While helping in a children’s Sunday School class, Katie, an adorably freckled first grader, told me she was terrified when she had to sing with the Children’s Choir in church. “My mom calls it stage fright,” she informed me. “And I got it!”

The children learned about a Bible character who displayed great courage. We concluded the story with a prayer for greater strength, trust and courage in God. Within minutes, the children’s choir director peeked through the door. She invited all the choir members to go with her to sing for “big church.” Katie reluctantly joined the group.

Ten minutes later, the classroom door burst open and a triumphant Katie announced, “That was AWESOME! I wasn’t freaked out at all! That was AWESOME!”

Katie experienced the power of God to answer a child’s timid, yet trusting, prayer.

This morning I hugged my kids. In a recent conversation with an elderly man, he inquired about my children. I shared a few of the challenges I’m experiencing as a parent of adolescents. He responded, “Love them. We lost a child. Just love them.” It stopped me dead in my whiney tracks. I breathed a prayer of thanks for my daughter’s muddy soccer cleats on the carpet and my son’s habit of using the prettiest, cleanest dishtowels rather than paper towels or dishrags to wipe up kitchen messes. This morning I hugged my kids.

-CL

My husband and I recently celebrated our 20th wedding anniversary by spending a few days at a beautiful mountain resort. It was delightful to just have time to just relax together. We took long walks, ate some scrumptious meals, and enjoyed the summer Mendocino countryside.

As we relaxed one afternoon, I realized it had been a long time since I had given myself a pedicure. I began to clean and soften my toes to prepare them for polishing, when I recalled something a friend of mine said—sometimes her husband painted her toe nails. I laughed out loud and mentioned this to my husband, and he replied, “Why not!” A short time later, my sweet husband happily sighed as he applied the last coat of pink polish.

He then asked if I would like to come along and watch as he played nine holes of golf the following morning. Hmmm…I had never actually been on a golf course before. But it would be even better if he would let me drive the golf cart.” Surprisingly, he agreed!

You wouldn’t believe the questions I had! What does this sign mean? Why is it smoother over here than there? Why are there different hole makers for the women? Poor guy! But I was a good girl and kept quiet while he lined up his shots and swung. It was the perfect time to read my Bible and just listen. We had such a wonderful morning making “new” good memories!

- LE

This week I helped out in Vacation Bible School as a fill-in Bible Story teacher. While telling the story of Jesus’ birth, I talked about Mary, ready to have the special baby, and no better lodging than a stable. One little kindergarten girl looked up at me and asked, “What I want to know is how that baby got out of Mary.” The teen helpers giggled and the other adult teacher gave me one of those “so-how-are-you–going-to-answer-that-one” looks. The only answer I could come up with was, “God had it all figured out and His plan worked.” Then I quickly moved on before she had a chance to think up another question!

-CL