This morning in church, the Lord reminded me to keep HIM at the center of my thoughts. FOCUS on HIM and everything else will fall into place. The sermon this morning was on PEACE. I LOVE THAT WORD. And I know where peace comes from - JESUS.
But I forget.
I get lost in my worries and my thoughts and my what-ifs and my lists and I forget. And then I lose that peace.
So the Lord reminded me of two stories about women in scripture. He reminded me to BE LIKE THEM.
You remember the lady who'd been sick all her life? She'd heard of Jesus and the healing He could bring, so she joined the crowd as they surrounded Him. Jesus was walking down the road and the crowds were pressing in..... CAUSE THAT WOMAN WAS PUSHING THROUGH. She just KNEW if she could just touch the TASSEL on the robe of Jesus that she would be HEALED! She didn't have to have the right words or ask the right questions or have it all together - SHE JUST HAD TO REACH OUT AND TOUCH HIM.... and she would have PEACE. She knew it. And she PUSHED FORWARD to get to Him. And Jesus immediately knew she'd reached out. He was there and, in the midst of what must have been chaos and noise and people, He spoke DIRECTLY TO HER. He knew her need. He knew her desires. He knew her situation. AND HE MET HER THERE. Just from a touch on His tassel - that desperate woman could finally take a deep breath and know that everything was going to be OKAY.
That's my first lesson that the Lord gave me today - the TASSEL.
THEN, He reminded me of some other women in scripture - all the way back in Exodus 5. Moses had just told the Israelites that WE ARE GETTING OUT OF HERE and they grabbed up their things and headed out of Egypt - very quickly - cause Pharoah immediately had armies chasing after them. Can you imagine the chaos? As a mother??? I mean, they had time to GRAB THE CHILDREN and your bread bowl (gotta feed those hungry kids) and RUN! They'd JUST crossed on dry land across the Red Sea (again, probably holding the hands of their children VERY TIGHTLY....) and watched their enemies drown in that same sea moments later..... and what do they do? THEY PULL OUT THEIR TAMBOURINES AND START PRAISING THE LORD. Their tambourines?????? What in the world? I'm not sure that in the craziness that those moments fleeing must have brought that I would have thought to bring my TAMBOURINE. Forget the instruments - grab the kids! BUT MAYBE THEY KNEW SOMETHING. Maybe their FAITH and EXPERIENCE had taught them that GOD IS GOING TO DO SOMETHING AMAZING. Not MAYBE, not PROBABLY, not HOPEFULLY - HE IS. HE IS going to do something amazing.... so you better have your tambourine ready! They worshiped with those tambourines and thanked the Lord for what he'd just done. THEY KNEW HE WOULD DO IT. And they were ready!
That's my second lesson that the Lord reminded me of today - the TAMBOURINE.
So, as I step into my last week of school, help Max ice his swollen hands from football, watch Jack settle back into his schedule, figure out what's wrong with Mary's hurting ear, finish a million day's worth of lesson plans, wire a lot of money to China, make final travel preparations, pack, look for passport photos that I've lost AGAIN, get documents notarized, put strollers and high chairs together, schedule Lottie's doctor visits, watch travel videos, seek out only crisp bills at the bank, and ON and ON..... I will reach out for the TASSEL - cause just touching the hem of his garment will bring PEACE. And I'll be sure to PACK MY TAMBOURINE.... I'll surely need it - cause HE IS GOING TO DO GREAT THINGS!
And here's that GREAT THING:
The Lord LOVES this one and He's allowed ME to be her Mama. As she grows up, I'll teach her about the TASSEL and the TAMBOURINE. I pray that her life and her story will give her FAITH and that she'll BE READY TO PRAISE Him for things He's YET to do!
Love you big, Lottie Gene. I'll be there in a minute!
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