My husband has always been one to get up early. But me, I would always say I wasn’t a morning or a night person I was a day person.
However, when God impressed on my heart to write a book, we had three small children at the time and since I fell into bed exhausted every night, I discovered the best alone time was early before my kids got up. At first, it was a big challenge. But on lazy mornings when my body was talking very loudly to me, my spirit would say, “You know how much you love this time with God…”, and it was true, so against my body’s wishes, I would pull myself out of bed and straight to the coffee pot.
The dullest pencil . remembers better than the sharpest mind. My co-worker, and friend, Ted Cramer, says that all the time, and it is very true. We all like to think we can remember whatever it is we are supposed to remember without having to write it down. If we are honest with ourselves, we know better than that.
I have made enough trips to the grocery store at this point in my life to know that if I go, I better write down everything I need to pick up. Having a written list saves the embarrassment of needing to call my wife before I get in the checkout line to make sure I got everything, because I know I missed something (I hate that). Having a list is also the only absolutely, positively, 100% way to be sure I won t have to make a second trip (I really hate that). And so, I write things down because my forgetter works a whole lot better than my rememberer does.
My soul ached, and I didn’t know how to fix it. I knew God could, but how? I knelt in front of my antique dresser and sent a silent plea to heaven. As if a light turned on in my heart, I felt hope.
God is enough. The thought comforted me like few others had. He would get me through this a situation beyond my control to fix. This “storm” may linger, and the “lightning” may still crack. But God would be with me through the downpour. I had hope that the sun would break through the clouds again.
A story that haunts me is Jesus’ encounter with a nameless, wealthy young man as he made his final journey toward Jerusalem.
Here was an important civic leader, a youthful climber with a prestige, bearing, and bank account that would have been the envy of many older men in Judea. But there was a hollowness in his chest that led him ever so close to the God adventure of a lifetime.
For all his status and personal wealth, this man had a hungry heart. The gospel of Mark tells us that he ran to Jesus, falling on his knees in the dust before him. You know the story. He asked Jesus what he had to do to inherit eternal life. He knew the commands, and he’d kept them all since he was a boy.
Dolores Rivera had a dream, one that contained a message from God. She dreamed of a pillowcase slowly falling, and its four corners grabbed her attention. Some weeks later, she heard of a town called Dolores, Colorado, a few miles away from a place called the Four Corners.
The Four Corners is a unique location where Colorado, Arizona, New Mexico, and Utah meet geographically. God called her to go to the Four Corners and pray.
After months of prayer, Dolores saved enough money for an airline ticket to Colorado but was short the funds for a hotel and food for a week. Knowing God would provide, Dolores exercised blind faith and obeyed.