It is very easy to ask these days "Lord, Don't you Care?"
Just watch 30 minutes of CNN or any major news channel and you can see the devastation in all parts of the globe. And while lately most of it surrounds foreign countries and sometimes places you haven't even heard of, go pick-up your local newspaper and on the front page, is more than likely a story that will lead you to ask "where is God in all of this?"
Reading the story of Martha and her sister Mary, it almost starts out as a story of sibling rivalry, but you can also look at in the eyes of our adult lives too.
"Why did Jane get that promotion instead of me, I did all the grunt work, she just got to present it?"
"My child is an honor roll student, why did they get the award?"
Or maybe this will apply to you more, "Why did this happen to us, why my baby/child...I did everything right in pregnancy, they never talked-backed or misbehaved, why us...?"
When we start to ask these questions, we get distracted...we had a faith that could have moved mountains, brought the continents back together and then something undesirable happens to us, or even something great happens to someone else...and then we no longer see the glory in ourselves, we lose our self-worth, we lose sight of the plan God has for us and quickly become discouraged and soon after doubt whether or not there is even a God at all.
Am I one to talk ~ absolutely not, I have done this time and time again...and now reflecting on some of the bigger moments when I did just this...I can see where God was with me the whole time, I just chose to not see it, because it wasn't what I wanted, or wasn't what I thought I needed.
Just watch 30 minutes of CNN or any major news channel and you can see the devastation in all parts of the globe. And while lately most of it surrounds foreign countries and sometimes places you haven't even heard of, go pick-up your local newspaper and on the front page, is more than likely a story that will lead you to ask "where is God in all of this?"
Reading the story of Martha and her sister Mary, it almost starts out as a story of sibling rivalry, but you can also look at in the eyes of our adult lives too.
"Why did Jane get that promotion instead of me, I did all the grunt work, she just got to present it?"
"My child is an honor roll student, why did they get the award?"
Or maybe this will apply to you more, "Why did this happen to us, why my baby/child...I did everything right in pregnancy, they never talked-backed or misbehaved, why us...?"
When we start to ask these questions, we get distracted...we had a faith that could have moved mountains, brought the continents back together and then something undesirable happens to us, or even something great happens to someone else...and then we no longer see the glory in ourselves, we lose our self-worth, we lose sight of the plan God has for us and quickly become discouraged and soon after doubt whether or not there is even a God at all.
Am I one to talk ~ absolutely not, I have done this time and time again...and now reflecting on some of the bigger moments when I did just this...I can see where God was with me the whole time, I just chose to not see it, because it wasn't what I wanted, or wasn't what I thought I needed.
This is my family at age 4.5yo or maybe even closer to 5yo at the time this picture was taken. What do you see at first glance? First welcome to the 90's, right? Second, you see a smiling family of 4. But below the surface, if you have siblings, you can probably pick-up on who favors which child more. The battle lines are clearly drawn...but they are much deeper than that, a few months before this picture was taken, there was a different family of 4.
My mother passed away October 1990 ~ she committed suicide, for reasons I can only speculate, and most nights, don't want to know. My dad re-married 4 months later, spent a few more weeks with my sister and I and then was deployed in the first Iraq war. Life there changed for me, forever.
Now I spent the remainder of my childhood and adolescents with the phrase "it's not fair" stuck in my philosophy on life. It wasn't fair I lost my mother, wasn't fair my dad was always deployed on my birthday, wasn't fair my sister got away with murder and I couldn't even get away with putting something in the wrong spot in the dishwasher...the list could go on and on. It wasn't until I got ready to graduate from high school that I began to realize, while I didn't have what I wanted (my biological mother ~ you know because my life would've been so perfect if she was there, and nothing bad would happen), God had given me what I needed...someone to care, love and do all she could to be the best mother she could to me. As I type I am in tears, at all the wasted years of fighting, cussing, screaming that went on between the two of us...a lot of wrong was done and most will never 100% go away, but since then, we've connected on one level ~ being a mother.
Other examples in our family's life (my kids and husband and I) have been around the necessities, how do we provide food for the kids when we have no money, why are we living in this 1 bedroom house when others have a mansion compared to our home, why can't we be as happy of a couple as they are...and once again the list goes on.
God has always provided us with the things we needed ~ unexpectedly we've been given food from unknown sources and known alike, we were given $100 one Christmas in a card that got misplaced until almost Easter and we were stressing about bills and Brian found the card in his Bible with a $100 bill in it, we were able to buy groceries that day and still pay the electric bill, our church purchased the lumber we needed to build a shed (we had the metal building) and supplied the people to help Brian build it, so we could move things out of our garage area and put a washer and dryer in, have a kitchen table, and just have a little more room in the rest of the house...God has been there...even when I scream, yell, cuss and shake my fists at how life is going, He is there, He IS listening, but He knows what is best for us, He will take care of us.
When we are carrying a load that is too heavy to carry alone...God brings something your way, to knock you to your knees and come closer to Him. He lets you rest, lets you build up your strength to continue with the journey ahead and walks with you each step of the way.
So the answer to the question "Lord, don't you care? " is pretty obvious now...of course He cares, just like you do for your own children, but with a deeper and greater love that fulfills all our needs, takes away our sorrows and redeems us.
For most that read this, the next days, weeks and months ahead are all based on many variables, the unknown and hope...remember God will take care of you, He does care about what you are facing with your child, He knows your fears and wants to help you get through each roadblock, but you have to be willing to turn it over to God, take the step back and watch.
"The Lord himself goes before you and will be with you; he will never leave you nor forsake you. Do not be afraid; do not be discouraged.
Deuteronomy 31:8
Have a blessed weekend,
The Kidds
Gracie's Gowns
My mother passed away October 1990 ~ she committed suicide, for reasons I can only speculate, and most nights, don't want to know. My dad re-married 4 months later, spent a few more weeks with my sister and I and then was deployed in the first Iraq war. Life there changed for me, forever.
Now I spent the remainder of my childhood and adolescents with the phrase "it's not fair" stuck in my philosophy on life. It wasn't fair I lost my mother, wasn't fair my dad was always deployed on my birthday, wasn't fair my sister got away with murder and I couldn't even get away with putting something in the wrong spot in the dishwasher...the list could go on and on. It wasn't until I got ready to graduate from high school that I began to realize, while I didn't have what I wanted (my biological mother ~ you know because my life would've been so perfect if she was there, and nothing bad would happen), God had given me what I needed...someone to care, love and do all she could to be the best mother she could to me. As I type I am in tears, at all the wasted years of fighting, cussing, screaming that went on between the two of us...a lot of wrong was done and most will never 100% go away, but since then, we've connected on one level ~ being a mother.
Other examples in our family's life (my kids and husband and I) have been around the necessities, how do we provide food for the kids when we have no money, why are we living in this 1 bedroom house when others have a mansion compared to our home, why can't we be as happy of a couple as they are...and once again the list goes on.
God has always provided us with the things we needed ~ unexpectedly we've been given food from unknown sources and known alike, we were given $100 one Christmas in a card that got misplaced until almost Easter and we were stressing about bills and Brian found the card in his Bible with a $100 bill in it, we were able to buy groceries that day and still pay the electric bill, our church purchased the lumber we needed to build a shed (we had the metal building) and supplied the people to help Brian build it, so we could move things out of our garage area and put a washer and dryer in, have a kitchen table, and just have a little more room in the rest of the house...God has been there...even when I scream, yell, cuss and shake my fists at how life is going, He is there, He IS listening, but He knows what is best for us, He will take care of us.
When we are carrying a load that is too heavy to carry alone...God brings something your way, to knock you to your knees and come closer to Him. He lets you rest, lets you build up your strength to continue with the journey ahead and walks with you each step of the way.
So the answer to the question "Lord, don't you care? " is pretty obvious now...of course He cares, just like you do for your own children, but with a deeper and greater love that fulfills all our needs, takes away our sorrows and redeems us.
For most that read this, the next days, weeks and months ahead are all based on many variables, the unknown and hope...remember God will take care of you, He does care about what you are facing with your child, He knows your fears and wants to help you get through each roadblock, but you have to be willing to turn it over to God, take the step back and watch.
"The Lord himself goes before you and will be with you; he will never leave you nor forsake you. Do not be afraid; do not be discouraged.
Deuteronomy 31:8
Have a blessed weekend,
The Kidds
Gracie's Gowns
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