THE NEW EWE

"What man of you, having a hundred sheep, if he loses one of them, does not leave the ninety-nine in the wilderness, and go after the one which is lost, until he finds it? And when he has found it, he lays it on his shoulders, rejoicing. And when he comes home, he calls together his friends and neighbors, saying to them, 'Rejoice with me, for I have found my sheep which was lost!'"

Luke 15:4-6

October 27, 2021

LIFE IN THE FOLD:

A scripture that has been on my mind a lot the past several day is Proverbs 16:9: "We can make our plans, but the Lord determines our steps." The Amplified version says, "A man's mind plans his way [as he journeys through life], but the Lord directs his steps and establishes them."

Another verse that goes along with that one is found in Psalm 37:23: "The Lord directs the steps of the godly. He delights in every detail of their lives."

I think often we have the misconception that God is directing our steps and involved in our lives when something big is happening; but when we're just going through our day to day life, He's not really very involved. Perhaps we may even feel as if our lives are so routine and boring, at times, that God surely has more important things to do than to be interested in what's going on with us.

But here's a scripture that proves that type of thinking completely wrong! "You [God] saw me before I was born. Every day of my life was recorded in Your book. Every moment was laid out before a single day had passed." Psalms139:16

That is pretty mind-boggling! Every single day, every single moment of our lives was written down and recorded in God's book, before a single day of our life had even come to pass!! Wow!!! God knew ahead of time every tiny detail regarding each of our lives. Even those moments that seem insignificant and boring, to us.

We can try to plan out our day, our week, our year, our retirement...... but only God knows what will happen from one moment to the next. He knows what today will look like and He knows what our future holds in store for us. I daresay that none of us will live out each day and year of our life exactly as we had planned.

I think we sometimes look at people in the Bible and it seems as if their lives are adventurous and they experience one miracle after another, and we wish our lives could be like theirs. What we often don't stop to think about is that what we are reading is an abbreviated condensed synopsis of their life. What is recorded is the highlights that are important lessons and examples, both good and bad, for all generations of people throughout history.

There are many, many years skipped where we have no details of what was going on with them. I believe that those are the years that they were growing up, raising families, working every day, doing their day to day routine, growing older and unable to do all that they could when they were young, daily/yearly boring "stuff" - just like us. Years that they probably felt like were insignificant and unimportant -- just like us. Yet God was directing their steps during those times, too, preparing them for something that would happen in their future -- just like us.

We know basically nothing about the first 600 years of Noah's life; other than he found favor in the eyes of God and was righteous. Then we read about his encounter with God, where God tells Noah His plan to destroy the earth and gives him detailed instructions on how to build the ark and what to do regarding the animals once it was finished. I'm not sure exactly how old Noah was when God first appeared to him with these instructions, but scripture says he was 600 when the floods came.

We have a few details regarding the flood and what happens afterwards. God makes a covenant with them afterwards with the rainbow; a sign to remind God of His covenant to never again to flood the whole earth to destroy all flesh. There's just a few verses regarding Noah and his sons. His story then very quickly fast forwards to end with this verse: "Now Noah lived 350 years after the flood. So all Noah's days were 950 years. Then he died."

I love the story in Genesis of Joseph. But once again, there are many years that we have no information on what he was doing or what was going on in his life. We have the important highlights that we need to know. In Genesis chapter 48, Jacob is dying and Joseph goes to tell his father goodbye. He takes his two sons with him. That's the first we know of Joseph having children. Prior to that we know that Joseph had interpreted Pharaoh's dream about there being 7 years of plenty, then 7 years of famine. We know what God told Joseph to do in Egypt in order to preserve the people and insure that they had enough to eat; but we don't really have many details of what Joseph was doing those 14 years. There are facts that we know about Joseph's life, but many years when he was likely going about his daily life and working that may have felt insignificant and boring to him.

We know nothing about Mary, the mother of Jesus, until the angel appeared to her to tell her that she would become pregnant with the Messiah. What was her life and her home life like during the years leading up to that point? Then we really don't have much information about her after the birth and first few years of Jesus' life; and even less information about Joseph, the earthly father of Jesus. But their lives were extremely significant in the Messiah coming to earth and in being His earthly parents. Yet I'm sure that they had many days of working, cooking, cleaning, taking care of children, paying bills, and mundane daily chores.

While living my life the past 14 years, going about what I needed to do day by day, I didn't really see it as being significant of God ordering my steps. It is only as I look back that I can see how perfectly God orchestrated my steps.

I stopped working at a career-type job in 2007. Jon and I both felt like it was the right thing for me to do, yet didn't really have a big plan or foresee what the future had in store for me. It was right after quitting my job that God placed within me the idea of beginning this weekly devotional newsletter. Over the years, I babysat my niece's first born son for three years, then a few years later I babysat her newborn daughter for 4 years. When my brother-in-law was diagnosed with a brain tumor, I was available to help my sister out during the months prior to his heavenly homegoing. When her son got a Lonestar tick bite that caused him to have severe allergies and reactions, I helped her homeschool him and with his care on the days that she was working. When she suddenly found herself the foster mother of two babies, I was available to help with their care when she was working. I picked up my nephews son from Head Start and watched him for a couple years. I was available to help out when my father-in-law was diagnosed with Alzheimers, then have been able to take my mother-in-law to numerous doctor appointments these past few years. When my nephew and his wife brought home a newborn baby, who was foster to adopt, I was free at that time to babysit while my nephew worked and she finished nursing school. Then a few months later, when they got their baby boy, also foster to adopt situation, I was able to help out. For the past three years, I babysat those two babies. This year I get their older two siblings on the bus in the mornings, help out when one of the kids are sick, and am free to help my mother-in-law out when she has appointments.

God perfectly orchestrated my life so that when one season ended of me going childcare or whatever it was that I was doing at that time, then He would smoothly open up another door. I didn't even recognize it at the time, because I was just helping out and doing what I could to be available to my family. It was only looking back that I saw how God so perfectly directed my steps.

It's not only in the big things that God directs our steps, but in the little things, too. Often we don't even see it as God's timing or Him guiding us to be at the right place at the right time.

This past Sunday evening I had attended ladies home bible study at my sisters home. It began at 6:00, and I had intended on leaving early, around 7:00-7:30. I wanted to finish laundry and a few other things due to this being a busy week. We were having a good discussion and I ended up staying until around 7:45. As I was pulling into our drive, I saw a car pulling into the neighbor's driveway. I turned around and was backing up when I saw a lady get out of the car, waving her arms as she walked towards our yard. She was from out of town, in a new car without a Pikepass so was trying to get to a road without tolls, couldn't get her GPS to work how she needed, and was lost. The work on our street threw her off, on top of that, and she thought the lane that she needed was the one that was closed. I was able to give her directions on how to get to the highway she was needing to take. Jon had been out watering our lawn earlier and had thought that he had seen that car stopping and turning around in the street across from our home, but he wasn't sure. It was dark and the lady was confused and frustrated. I believe that God directed my steps so that I got home the exact time that she pulled in next door, so that I was available to help her out and give directions.

We are never too young or too old for God to have a purpose for us and for Him to guide our steps. As the scripture said, that I earlier quoted, He wrote our story before we were ever born. He had all the days of our life written down. So if you are still breathing, God has a purpose for you and isn't finished with you!

When Jon's dad had Alzheimers and was in a nursing home, it was often difficult to understand why he was having to go through the confusion and frustration of this horrible disease. But even then, God was still writing Stan's story and had a purpose for his life! He had a roommate move in with him. The man was confused and scared and didn't understand where he was or what was going on. He was lying in bed crying one night. Stan got up, went over and sat beside him, held his hand, and prayed with him until the man settled down and could sleep. That was a God-ordained moment!

Never allow the devil to lie to you and make you believe that you have no use or no purpose! As long as you are alive on this earth, you are living out the story that God had written in His book about you, before you were ever born. Your life may seen boring and mundane and as if nothing exciting ever happens. But look for those God-moments when He brings people into your path that you can encourage and speak words of hope and peace into their life. Look for those moments when you can show kindness, for His sake. Know that God is directing your every step!

JON'S PERSPECTIVE:

Imagine rubbing a block of granite with an eraser. You wouldn't expect to hurt the stone at all, but would wear down the rubber in the eraser very quickly. You could run through 100 erasers, and the only mark on the granite could easily be washed or even brushed away. But if you look at the steps of an old building, you can find wear patterns where people walk the most. The US Capitol Building steps were replaced with marble in 1870, but were getting so worn that they had to be replaced again in 1995. Even the soles of shoes was enough to wear the stone down. It was slow, and invisible from one day to another. But the change was at work.

Sometimes it feels like a lot of time passes, and nothing seems to happen from day to day. Loretta spent years babysitting most of the kids she listed. Each day seemed more or less the same as the one before. But over time, each kid experienced progress. They learned. They grew. They got stronger, and better able to move, talk, and share ideas. They learned what "normal" meant from what they experienced each day. In particular, they learned that "normal" was to be loved, and to be kind to others.

You may not notice the impact you have on others from one day to another. But it is there. In the same way, you may not notice the impact God has on your life most days, but it is there.

ON THE MENEWE:

Sweet Baby Ray's Crockpot BBQ Chicken

Place chicken breasts in crockpot. Mix remaining ingredients together and pour over the chicken (or just pour the ingredients on top of the chicken, then stir.) Cook on low for 4 to 6 hours until chicken is pull apart tender. Shred the chicken, stir, then serve on slider buns.

THIS, THAT AND THE OTHER:

My niece's husband is very particular about his car! Their four kids aren't allowed to eat in it or anything. He is also repulsed by pickles. He takes their kids to school each morning. A few days ago, their 11-year old daughter tried to sneak a giant dill pickle into the car for breakfast. (Yuck!) Her dad caught a whiff of it and told her that she couldn't have it in the car and rolled down the window to get rid of the smell. So she held her hand out the window with the pickle all the way to school. She got bored just holding it, so she waved it to other drivers, using the pickle like a magic wand. That afternoon when the kids mama picked them up from school, she heard all the details. Apparently, they had attracted quite a bit of attention. The kids thought it was hilarious! Their dad.... did not!

THOUGHT TO PONDER:

Don't miss what God has for you by chasing what was never meant for you. - Christine Caine

OUR HEARTFELT THANKS TO YOU:

We love you!

Loretta & Jon

http://www.graysheep.org