Ponderings...Prayer Request

Happy Late 4th of July! Our town's 4th celebration was rained out so we had a 4th celebration on the 5th after evening church! It was still very nice and we got to visit with some good friends.

One terribly sad note, though, our friend Evelyn was there, her long hair now gone because of yet another round of chemo...most likely her last...I walked up to her and she started crying. "I have brain cancer..." she said with great difficulty and much emotion. I tried to be strong but didn't do a very good job. She's been through so much and I know that the Lord is going to take her home to be with Him very soon. Pray for her if you get a chance...she's been a strong little lady with a huge heart.

It's been kind of an emotional weekend for me. It is hard for me to work with the disabled adults that I help on Fridays and Saturdays. I cried on Saturday and then I felt better!
I know that God places us where He wants us and I am glad that I am there...it's just hard both mentally and physically.

I have been talking to one of the individuals there at the home about the Lord. She understands a lot, having more physical problems than mental. She has mild/moderate mental retardation as well as being delusional upon occasion. However, she knows about Jesus and talks about God making people the way they are, that storms are "done by His hands" and that God kept her boyfriend alive after an accident and saved him for her. So we were talking about Jesus and the cross and I asked her if she realized that Jesus KNEW that He was going to die on the cross for us BEFORE He came to earth. She was just amazed at that concept. I told her that since He is God that He knew everything before it happened. Part of the conversation that I had with her was for another man's benefit. He has had severe brain trama and he was listening to every word we spoke. He is quite capable of getting up and walking around and loves to help me with dishes or whatever I am doing. Most of the time, he really understands what we talk about. I keep thinking about the old saying that I grew up with "You might be the only Bible someone might read." That is really true in this situation...they only have what we bring to them...those that work with them, that is. They really don't have a lot of choices and their life is limited to what they are allowed to do. Maybe God has placed me there for a reason...even if it is hard for me to see it while I clean up unmentionable messes and deal with violent and emotional outbursts. I always thought that God wanted me to go to the mission field but I never thought it would be like this. God has a sense of humor...

There is something that I realized in Sunday School a few weeks ago. I've been in church since I was 7 and was saved sooo many years ago. I don't know why this impacted me like it did.But I didn't realize that God knew BEFORE He made mankind that we would fail Him and choose sin over holiness. He knew that there had to be a plan for us which meant that He would have to die for us Himself...yet He decided to create us anyway!! What kind of love is that? What kind of God is that? Just absolutely amazing that He would love us before He made us even though He knew what we would be...He knew what I would be. I'm glad I'm not God...I don't think mankind would have existed...I have love, but I don't think I have THAT kind of love. I'm sure I don't have that kind of love.

This has been a heavy kind of a topic this time...so often when I sit down, I want to write about my canning fun, gardening, crafts and sewing...and all this stuff comes pouring out....maybe I need two blogs...one just for fun!