Towards the beginning of summer, one evening our eight year old and five year old granddaughters were over at our house. We ended our time together gathered round a fire in the fire pit, roasting marshmallows and enjoying sticky, gooey s'mores. Our conversation turned to camping and we talked about the possibility of taking the girls camping later in the summer. As the conversation progressed, we asked if they'd rather go camping or go to the cabin on the Umpqua River, owned by our youngest daughter's in-laws. Having heard about the cabin from us, their aunties, and their cousins, they decided that they'd prefer to go to the cabin. And so, a meandering conversation while enjoying s'mores became a promise in the mind of two little girls.
And then the summer got busy and seemed to zoom by. There was the usual busyness of ordinary life, work, family and ministry. There was a kitchen remodel that began mid-July and is just now nearing the finish line. There was my sixtieth birthday trip to Maine with my daughters. As the summer drew to a close and the start of school neared, I began to make mental excuses to not try to squeeze in a trip to the cabin with our two youngest granddaughters-we were running out of time, we had too much going on to make it happen, we really hadn't promised them we'd go. But, then one night when I couldn't sleep, it began to bother me. Deep in my heart, I wanted to make my granddaughters' desire come to pass. In spite of the fact that it would be work and effort to make it happen, in spite of the fact that I couldn't see how we'd work it out with our schedule, I decided to pray about it. It wasn't a day or two later that things fell into place. Even our kitchen remodel was in a perfect place where it was actually better for us to be out of the house for a couple of days while the new paint on our cabinets dried and cured. So we loaded up the car with food, fishing gear, swimming gear, toys, and grandchildren and headed off. A wonderful, albeit exhausting, time was had by all.
As I pondered how God worked out the perfect timing and circumstances to make my granddaughters' desire to go to the cabin come true, I was reminded of how much He delights in giving us the desires and secret petitions of our heart. Yes, even those wishes that we've held close to our heart and not mentioned aloud to another human being, He notices and cares about. He fulfills His promises because He is a righteous and faithful promise keeper. But, He also blesses us just because He loves us-not just because He promised us and He's obligated-but because deep in His great heart He just wants to make our desires come to pass. What a gracious and giving God He is!
still following,
Elizabeth, this brought a smile to my face this morning. Our children and now grandchildren, always took our "maybe" to be a "yes" thus becoming a promise. A beautiful reminder this morning of our God who is faithful to His promises and never makes a promise He cannot keep. Most encouraging this morning! Blessings!
ReplyDeleteDon't you love it when you just about give up on something dear to your heart - and God gives you the "OOMPAH" needed to get you going on it - and everything falls into place! What blessing!
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