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

August 16, 2023

LIFE IN THE FOLD

Have you ever prayed for something, then don't recognize the answer when it happens; or it takes you a while to realize that God has done more than you had even prayed for?

That happened to me this past week. A couple weeks ago, we hit a big dog on our way home from Missouri. (Jon wrote about it a couple weeks ago.) It was 11:00 at night, we were on the turnpike and had just sped up to the speed limit of 80, and it was very dark out with the moon hidden by clouds. Suddenly, there was a big dog in front of us and although Jon tried to miss it and slammed on the brakes, we hit it -- hard. It messed the front of our car up pretty bad, on the passenger side. But thankfully, our car was still drivable.

The following Monday I dealt with calling insurance, getting a claim number and adjustor, and making an appointment at a body shop. The body shop couldn't get us in until this past Friday. I had been told that they would look at the car and do an estimate, which would take about half an hour, then it would be another two weeks or so before we would be able to get the car in for repairs. So I was expecting it would be around the last week of August or so before we would be able to take it in for the repairs to begin.

Before leaving the house on Friday I prayed and asked that God would open up an earlier appointment for us; either they would have a cancellation or an opening become available, so we wouldn't have to wait so long for the car to be fixed. In my mind, quicker meant being able to take the car in this week, without having to wait so long.

When I got to the body shop and began talking to them, they asked if I was getting a rental car or had a ride. That puzzled me a little, because my first thought was, "You had told me on the phone that this would only take about half an hour; so why do I need a rental or someone pick me up?!" I asked, "So am I leaving my car today for repairs?!" They said yes... we will take it into the shop and see what all needs done, get the parts ordered, and start work on it as soon as possible... unless you can't leave it today. OH!!

I was flustered! I called my sister, who wasn't working on Friday, and had her come pick me up. My thoughts were bouncing around trying to think of what to do. Jon was working out of town for the day, so wasn't available to help me make decisions. I knew that we had to have a rental at some point. Our insurance doesn't pay for that, so we knew that would have to be paid out of pocket; but school begins this week and I have to get my nephews kids on the bus, so have to have a vehicle. I had my sister drive me to a car rental business to check on vehicle availabilities. They didn't have any until Tuesday. I thought, "Okay, I'll make that work!"

I figured out a plan where we would pick up my nephew's car on Sunday... drive it to his house to watch the kids on Monday and he would have it to drive to work... then Jon pick me up that afternoon. I had been told that we'd get weekly updates on Tuesday and Thursday, so knew that by Tuesday we should have an idea how long we'd need the rental, so it would be okay. Jon could drop me off Tuesday morning to watch the kids again, I'd have my nephews car to drive to take his older son to the orthodontist that morning and he'd ride his motorcycle to work, then I'd have the rental that afternoon. I had a plan!

It wasn't until that night when Jon and I were lying in bed that I remembered my prayer from that morning! I had prayed that God would open up an earlier appointment for us to get our car repaired -- and He did much more than expected!! I had expected Him to open up something for the following week, and He did even better than that! He made a way for us to be able to leave our car that very day.

I wish I could say that when it happened I immediately thanked God and saw it as an answer to prayer and His provision. Instead, it caught me unaware and I got flustered trying to figure out a plan. Once I was aware of God answering my prayer, I did give Him thanks and gave Him all the credit for working out all the details.

The past few days, I have wondered how many times I've prayed for something, God answered, and I failed to see it as Him answering, therefore, didn't give Him thanks. Perhaps He answered in a way that was unexpected or wasn't what I was looking for, so I didn't recognize it as God responding to my prayer.

In Luke 17:11-19 we read the stories of the ten men with leprosy. Jesus was entering a village when ten men with leprosy saw Him. They stood at a distance and called out in a loud voice, "Jesus, Master, have pity on us!" When Jesus saw them, He said, "Go, show yourselves to the priests." As they went, they were cleansed.

When one of them saw that he was healed, he came back, praising God in a loud voice. He threw himself at Jesus' feet and thanked Him. Jesus asked, "Were not all ten cleansed? Where are the other nine? Has no one returned to give praise to God except this foreigner? Rise and go; your faith has made you well."

These men saw their opportunity for healing when they saw Jesus. They called out to Him, Jesus responded by answering their request, and they were made whole. Yet only one came back to give Him thanks and praise.

Perhaps the other ten got distracted by Jesus answering their cry so quickly. They may have thought, "He told us to go, show ourselves to the priests, so that's what we have to do!" Then afterwards, they may have been so overjoyed that they ran to find their families and show them that they had been made whole and could come back home once again. Then they got distracted by family reunions and dinners. What to do next? Should they try to find new jobs or go back to former employers and see if they could get their old jobs back? By the time that they realized, "OH! Jesus responded to our cries and answered! It is because of Him that we are whole.... we should have gone back to thank Him," Jesus had already left and continued on His journey.

Thankfully today, we don't have to try and find Jesus when He answers our prayers! He's not gone on a journey, but is always listening to our prayers and praise to Him. Jesus is always near to us and waiting for us to acknowledge Him, when He works on our behalf. He loves to hear our praise and words of thanks!!

JON'S PERSPECTIVE:

Loretta and I pray often for God's protection over us and our family. We also thank Him in our prayers for protecting us. The same Saturday I hit the dog, Loretta missed a deer. God was protecting us from the deer. And I suspect He used us to protect a motorcyclist from hitting a large dog. We don't know how many other things He has protected us from. But we give Him thanks because we believe He has been protecting us.

We also give thanks that I still have a good job, and that He provides for us. We give thanks for our health. We give thanks for our nice home and yard, and other blessings we couldn't even count. He has been good to us, and we want to tell Him often that we appreciate it.

ON THE MENEWE:

Tortilla Snack

Mix cream cheese and sour cream together. Add cheese and chopped green onions. Season with garlic salt.

Spread mixture evenly on flour tortillas. Roll up, then cut into 1-inch pieces. Serve with picante sauce.

THIS, THAT AND THE OTHER:

Church Bulletin Bloopers:

Mr. Bradford was elected and has accepted the office of head deacon. We could not get a better man.

A cookbook is being compiled by the ladies of the church. Please submit your favorite recipe, also a short antidote for it.

Life groups meet on Wednesday evening at 7:00 PM for food, fun, and fellowwhipping.

Newsletters are not being sent to absentees because of their weight.

Jean will be leading a weight-management series Wednesday nights. She's used the program herself and has been growing like crazy!

Ladies, don't forget the rummage sale. It's a chance to get rid of those things not worth keeping around the house. Bring your husbands.

Lent is that period for preparing for Holy Weed and Easter.

Ushers will swat the latecomers.

THOUGHT TO PONDER:

Reset... Restart... Refocus... as many times as you need to.

Just don't quit! - unknown

OUR HEARTFELT THANKS TO YOU:

We love you!

Loretta & Jon

http://www.graysheep.org