God's Odds

I hate to admit this but there HAVE been times when I have worried about life's mysteries and have blanketed the worry by saying, "God is in control..." or "Let's pray about this and leave it to God..." or "God has a plan...". I mean it...I believe it...in my mind I know that I should leave my burdens and worries at His feet...but I'm pretty sure when the lights are turned off and I think no one is looking I run back in and grab that woe and run "like the dickens" back to my pity party. I want to give the issues to God but I am guilty of telling Him that I'm not sure He should handle it alone...maybe I could pitch in and lift a corner.

1 Corinthians 1:25 "For the foolishness of God is wiser than man's wisdom, and the weakness of God is stronger than any man's strength."

We have some dear friends here in Mannheim who moved in across the street about a week before us. (Almost 4 years ago!) They have two daughters who have become close friends to Catherine (11) and Emily (9). Seriously...throughout John's 15 month deployment their daddy was also deployed...we spent every minute together and they have become like sisters. They found out last week that they are moving in June...it has not settled well in our home.

Tears...tears...tears...anger...tears...sobbing...anger...questions...tears...heartache...
Come on...we have moved 6 times (8 homes) in 16 years. It has not been fun moving and making friends...moving/making friends/leaving friends...etc. NOT FUN but expected.

I suppose there are times when even the expected brings unexpected heartbreak.

Matthew 7:7-8 "Ask and it will be given unto you; seek and you will find; knock and the door will be opened to you. For everyone who asks receives; he who seeks find; and to him who knocks, the door will be opened."

knock.....knock.....knock.....

The girls crawled into my bed last night crying about their precious friend's move. It was so sad. Emily cried that there would NEVER be any "9 year old and 11 year old girls to EVER EVER move into Grant Circle again!!!!" I reminded them that God did not accidentally look away from our family and "darn it all"....another yucky thing happened to those Harris kids. That He has the situation as close to His heart as He does other things that happen to his lambs and that...there is a plan. Confession: I was thinking..."It's going to be a LONG YEAR without the Stewart girls. WOE IS ME. I went to sleep...the girls went to sleep...God looked on.

Does God smile? I don't know. The bible really doesn't get into those tidbits...but He made us and WE smile. I think He smiled while we slept...

Psalm 63: 6-8 'On my bed, I remember You; I think of You through the watches of the night. Because You are my help, I sing in the shadow of Your wings. My soul clings to You; Your right hand upholds me."

Thursday morning: 4:45am: We all got up, drove to the airport to gather up John. He has been in Florida with his mother after the death of his grandmother. We were so happy to see him AGAIN...he had only been home for 6 weeks before he needed to go help with "the details". We sped back down the autobahn...finished getting ready for school...rushed out the door. God looked on.

Oh...forgotten lunch money! Catherine grabbed money for Emily and Jack and ran toward the elementary school, I grabbed my salad, bible, piano music, kissed John (sent him upstairs for a "jet lag" nap) and drove off to PWOC (Protestant Women of the Chapel - AKA "military spouse bible study"), Catherine was to meet me there. God looked on.

My usual PWOC routine is to drop off my food and head for the piano..which I did. Familiar faces started to mill around the room as we practiced singing and as I was chatting away with someone a new face walked up. Smiles, polite handshakes, questions about "where is your husband working", "where have you been assigned housing", "do you have any children".....and God looked on with a smile.

The new, very pretty face began to tell me that our husbands had been deployed together, that they frequently had dinner together, that they both had graduated from West Point (a year apart), that we had friends in common (these are amazing odds in the military community!), that she knew one of my dearest and oldest military friends....(Hmmmm...this new face suddenly felt more familiar!)....and (OKAY....insert the sound of God smiling.....OH THE SOUND!...I don't know what it is but my heart FEELS it!).....

Their family had just signed for a home on OUR STREET....(oh! So nice to have nice new neighbors!)....she home schools her children (oh! it's nice to have some "like minds"...even though I only home school one child)....and she has a daughter who is a 6th grader and almost 12 years old (what? Did I hear you correctly?....my Catherine is a 6th grader who is almost 12!) and she has 9 year old twin girls (I'm sorry...what did you say? TWIN 9 YEAR OLD GIRLS? OH MY GOODNESS!). I needed to sit down.

It wasn't that I was looking at a PERSON...I was feeling the weight and warmth of the biggest blessing blanket that God has wrapped around my soul in a while. It was if HE....The Ruler of the Universe....Alpha and Omega.....the Father, Son and Spirit....had quietly leaned down and said, "I hear you when you pray.". I hear YOU...I love YOU....what matters to YOU, matters to ME.

I hugged this sweet lady and she laughed....and God looked on. I almost feel like He took His hands, raised them towards the angel choir and conducted the song that was playing in my heart.

Psalm 61

"Hear my cry, O God;

listen to my prayer.

From the end of the earth I call to You,

I call as my heart grows faint;

Lead me to the Rock that is higher than I.

For You have been my refuge,
A strong tower against the foe.

I long to dwell in Your tent forever

And take refuge in the shelter of Your wings.

For You have heard my vows, O God;

You have given me the heritage of

those who fear Your name.

Increase the days of the king's life,

his years for many generations.

May he be enthroned in God's presence forever;

appoint Your love and faithfulness

to protect him.

Then I will ever sing praise to Your name

and fulfill my vows day after day."

And as we walked to the car, Catherine quietly asked me, "Mom, what are the odds that the new family has girls our age and that they are nice girls (she had met them in the home school bible study)?"

I said, "The odds?" and she said, "Yeah...'God's odds'"!