My mom and sister, Liz, were driving around Kansas City exploring the area.  Liz and her husband moved to KC in January to plant a church.  While driving, they found a cute house on the market and decided to call the Realtor for details. 

The Realtor thought he was coming to walk them through a house, but God was up to much more than that - He was answering the Realtor’s prayers.  Unknown to my mom or sister, this man had cried out to the Lord that very morning.  His wife had just beat a two year battle with cancer, they had a young son and he found himself feeling empty and wanting more.

Well, that something was a divine appointment with my mom and sister.  As the showing progressed, it became apparent that what began as a way of exploring the city, turned into an opportunity to minister life to one of God’s children.  Prayer changes things, and that’s just what they did - Mom and Liz had the priviledge of praying for the Realtor and his family.

As my mom retold this story, tears filled my eyes.  I began to think about all the things God set in motion to touch this man, on the very day he had cried for help.  God cared so much about him that He set things in motion, even before the Realtor prayed:

• Mom had to be visiting my sister in KC
• Mom and Liz had be out driving around
• They had to find a particular house that caught their attention
• They had to call the number to see the house
• The Realtor had to be available and show up for the appointment
• Mom & Liz had to be sensitive to the Holy Spirit
• And after all that, they had to be willing to pray with and for the Realtor, all because of LOVE

This made me think about two things.  Do I really know how much He loves me and how far He’ll go to reach me?  How many times have I missed a divine moment to show God’s love to someone who is desperately in need?

Eph 3:18-19, “And may you have the power to understand, as all God’s people should, how wide, how long, how high, and how deep his love is. May you experience the love of Christ, though it is too great to understand fully. Then you will be made complete with all the fullness of life and power that comes from God.”

I can’t count how many times that I have, as a mom, cried out to everyone, except to God, asking for help.  He is waiting for us to say, “I need you, I can’t do this without you” and then He comes running.  His LOVE runs wide, long, high and deep for us. 

This last year has been a mommy roller coaster ride.  Sammy J was a colic baby and the hours of screaming I endured for months on end were physically and emotionally draining.  It wore on my relationship with Jesus, Sam, Taylor, family and friends.  I was so spent at the end of everyday that I felt I had nothing left to offer.  The fog lifted when he turned 6 months and I told my husband, “we made it.”

If you are a mother you are probably chuckling because if it’s not colic it’s a new challenge.  All this to say I am now parenting a son who is funny, smart, cute and strong willed.  Now for those of you who say he’s just a boy I strongly disagree. This has everything to do with personality. 

The colic has left, but now I am entering new waters with Sammy J as he tests boundaries and my endurance.  How do I parent this little person who wants to be the boss of me? How do I give him boundaries, but not squelch his determination?  My mom tells a story of my 2 year old brother telling her that one day he would be the boss of her.  I think I have that same little boy living in my house.

Talking with a friend I said, “the hardest part of parenting this passionate little guy is realizing I need a lot of personal growth.”  Lord why do I need to grow now?  Can’t you just help me raise him and I’ll do my growing up later?  The truth is He loves me too much to leave me unchanged.  My circumstances will eventually change, but God is trying to grow me up so when the storms of life come I have strength to endure. 

I’m not an early morning person, but I’m becoming one.  My strength is found in those quiet hours with Jesus.  Philippians 4:13 is my new anthem cry…”I have strength for all things in Christ Who empowers me (I am ready for anything and equal to anything through Him Who infuses inner strength into me; I am self-sufficient in Christ’s sufficiency).”