Over the last few days I was able to reflect in a very unique way on so many things from the past. I drove by the house that we brought my daughter Autumn home from the hospital to… the house that we pulled away from a little over 17 years ago to move to the small town of Somerville, Alabama. I think about that step of faith. It was a big pay cut. It was full of unknowns and lots of hard work and difficult things would be ahead, but to see all that God has accomplished since then is astounding. I drove by the tiny apartment that me and Shane lived in with 3 little kids while waiting on our Michigan house to sell. I drove by the gym where Shane played high school basketball and where I later coached volleyball. I stayed at the same hotel that Shane and I stayed at on our 25th anniversary trip. He had leukemia but we didn’t know it. He felt terrible and was in so much pain. He actually went to ER that weekend but they missed the diagnosis. I remember sitting on the sofa in that room and telling him I was starting a word study on Psalm 23 and asking him if he wanted to join me. I remember his excitement at that idea. I attended church where he grew up during his teen years and later was on staff. I spent time with some of our dearest and most faithful friends…people whose impact literally changed our lives. I heard the most incredible message that was exactly what I needed. Alabama football took us to Dallas, but I believe the real reason God orchestrated it was so much deeper. As I reflected on all of this and was reminded in that same hotel of that Psalm 23 study, I realized just how real that has been in my life. The Lord really is MY shepherd. I really shall not want. The same God who orchestrated so many beautiful things in my past is still at work and is still MY shepherd. Though I can’t see it, He has a perfect, beautiful future plan for me… just like he did 17 years ago when we arrived at a little church in a little north Alabama town. He is faithful. Whatever you face…as a child of God, He is at work and He is YOUR shepherd.
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