Everything I Need

I hope all of you have had a wonderful Thanksgiving. Every day should be a day of thanksgiving!

Diane, the friend of mine for whom I have been praying, seems to be doing somewhat better. At first, they held out very little hope that she would live past Sunday the 23rd. Here we are eight days later and she is slowly improving. Praise the Lord!

The shower for my daughter-in-law went beautifully on Saturday. She and my son are looking forward to flying to China on Saturday morning to pick up their precious son. I am looking forward to them getting back on the 19th. Being a mother, it is hard not to worry about their safety, but I must put them in God's hands and trust Him (and I do trust Him).

I had asked her mother (the maternal grandmother) to say a few words at the shower and then I also spoke for a few minutes. I would like to share with you what I said.

Most of you have heard or read this story, but a few years ago I found something very unique in this story.

The story is found in I Kings 3:16-27. If you haven't read it and have a Bible, look it up. It is about two women, who were harlots, and they each had a newborn baby. The one baby died and during the night the mother of the dead baby took her baby and traded it with the baby of the other mother. When that mother awoke in the morning, she discovered the baby she had was not hers. To make a long story short, they went before King Solomon. Each woman argued that the living baby was hers. King Solomon in his wisdom said, "Bring a sword....Divide the living child in two, and give half to the one, and half to the other." Of course the real mother said, "Give her the living child, and in no wise slay it." Solomon then knew who the real mother was.

For years, whenever I heard this story told, it was always to emphasize the wisdom of Solomon. But here is something new I saw and I used it at the shower.

These women were harlots. Although the Bible doesn't tell us so, it is highly probable that they had not had a very good life before that. Perhaps they had not had mothers who had taught them how to mother. And yet, God put EVERYTHING in them that they needed to be a mother. This was evidenced in how natural it was for the real mother to be willing to give up her child rather than to have him killed.

To my daughter-in-law I said, "Phyllis, God knew from the very beginning that you would be the mommy of Matthew. You are going to face some circumstances of which most of here today know very little. But God put everything in you that you need and when those difficult times come, remember that. "

How true it is! When God gives us things to do that seem too hard, He already put everything in us that we need. When God gives us a child with special needs, He already put everything in us to parent this child. When I start to complain about something in my life that seems too hard, I must remember that He has given me everything I need. He is always there for me. He is my best friend, my Comforter and the answer to every situation in my life.