Things Come Crashing Down

Have there been times in your life where you've felt like you've had supernatural intervention, not like creepy stuff, but times where you've felt like something really wrong could have happened but it ended up everything turned out ok?  I can name on my hand about 5 times in my life where I've felt like this personally.

Today, marks the second time I've felt like this for my girls. Today, there were "Angels encamped" around my very adventurous children....

Minding my own business, I was in the living room while my children were very intently playing in their room (this should have been my first warning signal, but I was just enjoying the fact that the girls were playing with each other so well) when all of a sudden I heard a loud crash and then the sounds of screaming...I rushed into the room and found the dresser drawer upside-down  on the floor with Bella half way pinned underneath it and Lizzie fleeing from the scene. 

At this point Bella's mouth started to bleed and Lizzie's lip was fat and her cheek was swollen with a bruise on it...I took the girls into the living room and began to check for any serious injuries, they didn't have any (thank the Lord) and finally after probing, I found out what happened. 

Bella was being the "baby" and wanted to sleep in her "crib" (the drawer) with Lizzie tucking her in...

As I inspected the scene, it occurred to me that they walked away from a potentially very serious disaster.  If the whole dresser, not just the drawer, would have fallen that would have meant the very heavy mirror on top could have fallen. I am so thankful for the Lord's protection of my kids...

I learned early in my experience as a mother that I can not prevent all things bad from happening to them, but I can have faith in the Lord to watch out for them when I can't by saying prayers for their safety.  This has become a daily habit for me. Every time I think of them, I ask the Lord to protect them...Thank you Lord again for keeping my children from any real danger...

They were both pretty shaken up and we talked about the consequences of their actions...In the midst of this object lesson, Bella tells me that, "Jesus is everywhere," and I tell her, "Yes, yes He is...even now He's keeping watch over us..."  Needless to say both were very sorry for what happened and were also afraid I was going to punish them further, I think they both learned their lesson because of the scariness of it all so I felt like further punishment wasn't necessary.

After comforting them with numerous hugs and kisses and reassuring them of their forgiveness, I was able to lay them down.

They are now soundly (safely) sleeping for their afternoon nap in spite of all the blood, bruises and bumps...

The many adventures of motherhood...

God's Victorious Love

This week has been a very trying and tragic week for several people I know.  It seems that when the Lord wants to take loved ones home he usually does it by twos.  When my mom passed...that same night a very good friend of hers', Ethel, who was much older, died too.  They must have been escorted by the Angels together into Heaven...Two dear friends of mine lost a daughter this week, and another good friend asked me to pray for her as friends of hers lost a little one.  I also have a friend who is enduring some very difficult family issues that are effecting the family in a very profound and deep way.  In times like this it's hard to see the good...it's hard to understand the why.  It makes me think of a quote by Corrie Ten Boom given a few weeks back in our church bulletin, I've hung onto and see that it has really blessed me and thought I would share:

   "Ofter I have heard people say, 'How good God is! We prayed that it would not rain for our church picnic, and look at the lovely weather!'  Yes, God is good when He sends good weather.  But God was also good when He allowed my sister, Betsie, to starve to death before my eyes in a German concentration camp.  I remember one occasion when I was very discouraged there.  Everything around us was darkness in my heart.  I remember telling  Betsie that I thought God had forgotten us. 'No, Corrie," said Betsie, 'He has not forgotten us.  Remember His Word: 'For as the heavens are higher than the earth, so are my ways higher than your ways, and my thoughts than your thoughts.'" Corrie concludes,  "There is an ocean of God's love available-there is plenty for everyone.  May God grant you never to doubt that victorious love-whatever the circumstances."

"Restore unto me the joy of thy salvation; and uphold me with thy free spirit." Psalm 51:12