Tuesday, July 18, 2017

God's Hand In My Life

I’ve noticed that even though I may not immediately recognize it, God has a hand in my life on a daily basis.  Yes, I know that God is in my life all the time but I don't always see it.  Sometimes things happen that seem so ordinary, so small that it seems they are not important enough to be the result of the hand of God.  However, during one of my morning "sit-downs" (as I like to call them) with God, I focused on recent events that I could see had God's hand in them.

My husband's sister died about 3 weeks ago.  His brother went to Chicago to handle arrangements and clean her townhouse to be ready for sale.  When he returned he told horror stories of what he found in the house.  He said that it was a mess.  It was dirty, stinky and had cat feces all over one level.  This was a surprise to me as I always thought of my sister-in-law as a very organized neat person.  My husband was also upset about this because he felt that just wasn't the kind of person his sister was.  My husband and his brother went to Chicago about 2 weeks ago to do final paperwork as well as look over the property.  When he returned, he told me that although there was a lower level of the house that reeked of cat, the rest of the house was extremely organized and neat.  The clothes in all her drawers were clean and folded, her closets were organized.  Everything looked like the sister he knew.  He was quite relieved.  Losing a loved one is very difficult but finding out they are different than the person you remember only adds to the grief.  I am glad that God had a hand in easing some of my husband's pain.

God's Hand was evident when my husband had gone to Chicago with his brother and left me home alone.  I have not been by myself in a long time but I was not overly concerned.  In fact, I made a point of telling my husband and son that I would be quite all right and looking forward to the quiet time.  The first night my husband was gone, I was surprised when my youngest son showed up.  He said he had just gotten off work and thought he would come home and spend the night.  He knew that I didn't sleep well when I was alone (he remembered when his father worked midnight shifts and I had a difficult time sleeping) and felt his presence would be calming.  It was and I did sleep quite well.  I did tell him in the morning he didn't need to come again because I would be ok.  However, the second night, we had a very intense although brief storm.  The power went out and I was left in the dark.  I have been in the house without power before but never without my husband.  Needless to say, I was a nervous wreck.  I had a lot of conversations with God that night.  Then about 11:30pm, my son showed up again.  He said that he felt he had to come home after work because I needed him.  The relief in my heart when He came in was overwhelming and at that point, I knew that God had made sure I was not alone to face the dark that night.

I believe that God communicates with us in any way He can. He speaks through His word, He sings through His songs, He whispers in His wind and He works through His messengers in the common events of our days. If we look and really see, we will see His clues that let us know He is there.

2 comments:

  1. Ellen, this was so beautiful. I too have not been too well for a month now, and it has made me less thankful for His gifts. Today, I am going to make an effort, whether I feel like it or not, to thank God for every little grace He sent my way.

    Thank you for this post.

    Caitlynne

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