Remember When?

As children some of the first verses we learn are Proverbs 3:6&7. Trust in the Lord with all your heart and lean not unto your own understanding, in all your ways acknowledge Him and He will direct your path.

Yippee! Got it! Here we go, down the path....straight ahead, no bends, no forks in the road, or speed bumps. Better yet no slimy disgusting pits of the devil to fall into! Nothing but blue skies and smooth sailing. Trusting in the Lord and letting Him direct.

Woe wait a minute...that's not you're life? It's not mine I can tell you that. Bumps, bruises, friends that fail, plans that fall apart. People that disappoint. Sound slightly more familiar?

Ok now we're on the same page...so we say Trust in the Lord and He will direct you! It says so right here! Do it! Just do it! Huhu...how?

How do you trust God when you don't know what's coming, when you don't know IF anything is coming at all? When you've been beat up, pushed around and left for dead? Do you muster up all of the Spiritual Fortitude in your tiny little heart and go for broke? Do you blink three times, turn around and spit on the ground? Or how about click your heels together three times? Sorry...they're RED HEELS with sparkles on them! (Ha Ha)

So what's the magic words to make the Trust come flooding into the soul and restore peace, refreshment, and focus?

Think about this:

When Joshua was taking over the leadership of the Israelites he said "remember how God brought you out", when they crossed over Jordan he put up a monument so that they would "remember", over and over year after disappointing year the Israelites were called to remember what God had done for them in the past. And with each memory, strength was renewed, hearts revived, and TRUST restored.

So tonight I sit and remember.....how God got us down a mountain in pitch black...with no head lights then brought a complete stranger to our motel door to pay for the car repairs.

How a small bunch of country folk in a little teeny Texas village gave me and my brother birthday parities...even though they'd never met us.

How many times checks showed up in the mail right when we needed them. Or a big trash bag full Christmas gift showed up on the porch when things were tight.

I remember my parents going to Greenland and coming back with just about as much money as they'd left with. And stories about a little girl in Alaska that gave her heart to God when a man looking for a mission field showed up and preached.

I remember the hundreds of believers that prayed, gave, and encouraged. Many many more than the ones that tore us down and drove us away.

I remember, and I am amazed! I remember and I am ashamed. I want so badly for those certain relationships and people to accept me...and here I am.....accepted by the God of the universe. What is wrong with me?

I remember the strong men that I had the privilege to sit under and learn from. Many of those men got paid to teach preacher boys the stuff I was getting for free. Many a preacher boy had to pay tuition for the stuff I got all summer long.

So I thank Him for the mountains, and I thank Him for the valleys, I thank Him for the trials He's brought me through....cause if I never had a problem I wouldn't know that God could solve em' and I wouldn't know what faith in God could do! Through it all, through it all, I've learned to trust in Jesus and I've learned to trust His Power! Through it all, through it all, I've learned to depend upon His Word!