Saturday, May 24, 2008

Angels among us

There are times when people go through very difficult times in their lives and wonder where God is in the midst of their suffering. I have had my share of these times and will continue to have them, I'm sure, until the time comes for me to leave this earthly realm.

As I've grown in the Lord, I have realized that it is now easier for me to praise Him for these times as well as for the ones that are more pleasant. The knowledge that God is with me through all my trials and circumstances is the most wonderful feeling I could ever hope to have.

I'm going to write about the time when my son was very young and naive. My son is and has been highly gifted since he was small but has no common sense whatsoever. I have been told by other parents with kids like him that their children are lacking in that area as well.

When my son was in 4th grade I had to pull him out of the school he had been going to and enrolled him in another one due to safety reasons. I found a good babysitter to watch him and my then 2 yr old daughter while I worked. Being that this would be the first time that he would be walking to the sitter's house I called the school and made sure they knew not to send him home on the bus. They knew he'd been followed by a suspicious person and thus my reason for getting him watched by the babysitter. I specifically made it very clear that under no circumstance should they allow him to leave on the bus.

About 30 minutes after they got out of school I got a call from my babysitter because my son had not yet arrived and she was worried about him. I called the school and was told they did not know if he'd gotten on the bus or not. They could not find him anywhere. Needless to say I went ballistic and told the school Principal I had specifically told her to make sure she pointed him in the right direction and not to allow him to get on the bus. I was apologized to and thus began my ordeal for what seemed like an eternity.

I immediately left my job, explaining to my boss what had occurred. I wasn't very far from my home but it seemed like forever before I got there. Thinking he may have forgotten that he was to go to the babysitter's house and could've mistakenly ridden the bus anyway, I drove straight home. My heart beating a mile a minute I was praying frantically all the while. When I burst in through the door I called out his name, no--I take that back, I screamed out his name. In response I got an eerie silence. I burst into tears and loudly screamed at God, "Dear Lord Jesus in heaven, bring him home safely. Do not allow any harm to come to him. You have given me the privilege to be his mother; please do not take him like this." Through my desperation and tears and on autopilot, I called the cops and screamed at them to find my baby. You can imagine the thoughts that were racing through my mind. That was the worst day of my entire life.

After what seemed like a lifetime had passed the cop left and I contacted the school and told the Principal that if anything bad happened to my child that I would sue her and the school district for everything they could ever hope to have. A scared angry mother will do anything for her child.

An hour after I got the first call and after numerous calls to the sitter, my phone rang and it was the sitter saying that my son was there and that he was fine. I praised the Lord for bringing him back to me safely.

I drove to the sitter's house and saw my son and I praised the Lord out loud again for having mercy on me. I asked him what had happened and where he was. Apparently, he had taken a wrong turn and walked in the wrong direction. When asked how he had gotten to the sitter's house the sitter told me he had arrived in a white truck. Still reeling from the roller coaster of emotions I had lived through in the last hour, I asked my son how did he know who to ask for help. He told me he had come upon a lady that was playing outside with her two children in their front yard. He described her as blonde and wearing white clothes as were her two children. When he told her he was lost she told him to get in her truck which was also white, loaded up her kids and drove him to the sitter's house.

Immediately, I wanted to know where this woman was. I wanted to thank her and tell her how grateful I was for her being my child's guardian angel and bringing him back safely. We never did find that house even though we went up and down that street numerous times. The very same street my son walked on that day. Weeks went by, even months and I kept going up and down that street every time I got the chance but the house just wasn't there.

After many months and countless driving up and down that street, I realized that I would never find it. The lady never was of this world. She was an angel God sent to watch out for my little boy on that day. He heard my prayers...loud and rude as they were. More like bellowing, really. I put my faith in Him and yet again, He had given me a miracle.

Yes, there are angels among us. I've seen the work that they do. They have touched my life on more than one occasion. This one I wrote about just happens to be one of them. To me, the most important one.

Thank you, Lord, and I am forever grateful for the miracles that You have given me. I praise Your holy name.

God bless my readers. Trust in God with all your heart and lean not unto your own understanding. Ask and ye shall receive. With God all things are possible. I am living proof.


Saturday, May 17, 2008

I got the answer from the man upstairs...

Well, I visited with my pastor a couple weeks ago and during that time the subject came up about my plans to maybe go back to work. He was very clear and stated I should remain at home for the time being. Ask and ye shall receive. I had been praying about it and I was so excited about the possibility that I'd be going back to work and all the things I would be doing, and so on and so forth. WRONG!!

I asked God to make it very clear what He wants me to do and He did. I guess there is no second-guessing it now. It's okay, I promised I would do His will not mine so ladies, gentlemen and lurkers--I will continue to be a homeschooling, stay-at-home mom for however long the Lord wants me to do that. Which, to me, means that (as always) He will take care of us should our family need medical care.

I must admit now that my heart is full of peace about that dilemma. A peace that I'd never known before. In the past I was always questioning if this is what God really wanted me to be doing in this chapter of my life. Thank you, Lord Jesus for showing me Your ways. I praise You for that.


Monday, May 5, 2008

Contemplating going back to work

At least for the summer, I've been thinking about going back to work. I've called a headhunter and they asked for my updated resume. These are the people that got me the job at JPM 5 years ago. We'll see if things work out. I've pretty much have 3 choices...drive to all the way to where I used to work, which is one hour each way, and I don't want to do that; go work downtown Dallas and although it is much closer, parking fees would have to be paid; or I could take a local job and make much less. Hmmm, I don't know what to think so I'm going to put it in God's hands and let Him decide for me. He always gets it right, unlike me. :-)

So, I'm waiting to hear from these people. I did get a couple calls from other places where I had submitted my resume last week. I chose not to interview with either of those two that contacted me. Then of course there's the little problem that is called IRS. If I go to work full-time they will sock it to us next year at tax time. Argh, I can't win for losing! That's why I'm putting it in God's hands and have Him decide.

Say a prayer for me that things will work out for the best and that I will do God's will, not mine. Also, say a prayer for my little princess...she's getting on my nerves (yes, again).