Refreshing

Last week I posted that I was struggling. The truth is, I was overwhelmed with life and the constant battle to be strong, etc. The Lord let me have my melt down and I felt no condemnation in it. I was just tired and needed to rest, physically, emotionally, and spiritually. The spiritual resting thing seemed strange to me because aren’t we always “supposed to” be seeking hard after the Lord? Well, His grace is sufficient and He let me just rest in Him. I told Him I had nothing to give and He just poured into me through the prayers and words of friends, through songs of truth, through just resting.

Then He did some other things for me. My daughters have been taking an art class and I wasn’t going to do the next session because we don’t have the money, but He put it on friend’s heart to pay for the art class. My husband wanted to take us out for lunch on Mother’s Day, and a friend gave me a gift card to the very restaurant that we wanted to go to. On Saturday a friend gave me a very sweet “Thank you for being my friend” card and in it was a gift card for Target. On Mother’s Day we went to Macaroni Grill and had to wait an extra 40 minutes even though we had reservations, so the manager said he’d make it “worth our while” and when we got the bill he’d reduced our bill by a third!

That night we went to the Nathan Clark George concert and it was as if God was speaking right to me the whole time about how much He loves me. Afterward we talked with Nathan for a while and Kraig bought two CDs. When we were leaving Nathan followed us to the door and gave us the DVD that Franklin Springs made about their family traveling around the country in an RV. He just gave it to us and I started crying as I said thank you, because I had been wanting to see it ever since it came out last year because it is a secret desire of mine to travel around the country with our family in an RV. I never asked God for the DVD, it was such an “extra” type thing, but He knew my heart and He gave it to me through Nathan. I was so overwhelmed with blessings! Then as we were driving away, I opened the DVD and found the money that Kraig had paid him for the two CDs he had bought. Kraig and I both started crying again at what God was doing!

Remember my article about kisses from God? Well, do you ever just get overcome with your love for your children, not because of anything they’ve done, but just because you love them, and you just pick them up and smother them with kisses? That’s what it felt like God was doing to me. Trust me, I hadn’t done anything to deserve it. I was just making it through each day, but it was as if He was picking me up and covering my face in kisses and saying, “I love you. I love you. I love you!” Thank You, Father! I love You too.

Proverbs 11:25b

…those who refresh others will themselves

be refreshed.

None of our circumstances have changed, but I feel refreshed for the next leg of this journey. Honestly, just being able to rest without feeling any condemnation was so good that I should say, that would have been enough. But my Father also gave me friends who prayed with me and for me poured truth and life into me like nourishment to my soul, and that would have been enough. But then He used some to pour physical blessings on me, and that was the lavishing of God on my heart after He had already filled me again with truth and strength! Thank you, each one who prayed with me and for me last week, for those who sent me an email, called or spent time with me, for those who gave tuition, gift cards, and music. May God refresh you as He has used you to refresh me!

Sole Deo Gloria,
WP Stacey