"A Providential Moment" - Prompt 18/21

Today's prompt invites us to "write about a moment in our life when we experienced God's providential intervention or care in a powerful way".

And, Dawn adds to these words, "Sometimes I think GOOGLE is God's providential care for my blogging life."

That last sentence?  It reminded me of an incident, perhaps more than one, when God's care - providential or not - came via the Internet, specifically Facebook, and other bloggers!

I've been reflecting on this moment; but first, the "state of mind" I was in during this time...

{Since I've already journaled about this in my "regular" journal, I'll just quote my own words and the words of those who helped during this stretch.}

August 8, 2016, after being away for four days attending a scrapbooking retreat, I returned home on a Sunday evening - tired and ready to relax.  That evening was OK; but the next day was back to how things are...not really "normal", but for us, the way things normally are!  And, I wrote in my journal:

"...And, I'm home!  Back to the cat - who loves me, and is trying to make sure I stay HOME for awhile; and to the one who treats me like crap!

"Leave him?  Not possible!

I do think it's the dementia...or is it?!  I'm jut not sure; but I am so tired of being spoken to and treated this way in my own home!  I do know it's hard and when he gets that way - which is hard to predict - I am ready to leave...for awhile...forever!"

So, my mindset was one of discouragement, frustration, uncertainty...failure.

And, God knew I needed a lift; perhaps a few lists to help get me back on the right path.

The first was an Evening Blessing from Susie Larson (via Facebook):

"May God give you glimpses of the new beginnings He has for you.  May you stay in step with Him; and trust Him in the meantime.  May God give you joyful contentment in the place He has you now.  May you faithfully steward your current assignment, as you wait for God to move you.  May you see the treasure of trusting the timing of your dreams to god.  He is with you and He cannot, will not, fail you.  sing for joy today and trust Him fully with your tomorrows.  Sleep well tonight!"

These words were helpful, but I was still so tired from the weekend with late nights crafting, that I was becoming very discouraged trying to get my weekly blogs written and published...

And read these words from "The Happiness Dare" by Jennifer Dukes Lee, inviting us to join her for "the dare"...

"I believe the Holy Spirit is saying to each of us, 'Pay attention.  Savor the life God has given to you.  Thank God for the Good when life is beautiful.  And fight hard to find the happy when life is brutal.' (page 45, "The Happiness Dare")."

Yes, so much was put before me in those few days when I needed to read them...and, I'm not finished yet!  In fact, the really "weird" incident is yet to come...but, not yet!

First, some words from the Message Bible I found on an old bulletin or magazine:

"All praise to the God and Father of our Master, Jesus the Messiah!  Father of all mercy!  God of all healing counsel!  He comes alongside us when we go through hard times, and before you know it, He brings us alongside someone else who is going through hard times so that we can be there for that person just as God was there for us.  We have plenty of hard times that come from following the Messiah, but no more so than the good times of His healing comfort - we get a full measure of that, too!  (2 Corinthians 1:4-5)"

WOW!!  Talk about words hitting home!  I wrote...

"He comes alongside us when we go through hard times..."

Yes, He does come alongside us; when we go through the good times and the bad times!  He helps us get through the hard times and maes our good times even better!  And, He prepares us to help someone else who is also going through hard times; perhaps even the same hard times we have encountered.

Hmmm!  This is all coming full circle now, once I share this "weird" incident, which also relates to the discouragement I felt in my writing as well as my caregiving...

After finding that last scripture, and journaling briefly, I also wrote out a short prayer to "end" the entry, and the day:


"Thank you, God, for being 'alongside' me no matter what!  I feel at times I've come to the end of my rope; it's hard just going from day to day sometimes...yet, You are there to strengthen me...every day!"




Here's what I wrote in my journal about the "weird" incident":

"This is so weird!  I struggled earlier to get my Simple Woman's Daybook finished; but the words were just not coming.  So, I just quit 'til later...or even tomorrow!

"That was a few hours ago.  I just checked e-mail and had a notification of a comment on my SWD post for August 8th...the one I was struggling with!  Somehow it was published!

"And, I do not recall hitting Publish!

"The comment has inspired me not to give up!

"So, thank you, Barbara - that is for real the person's name that wrote the comment - and thank you, God, for whatever happened to publish that "unfinished" post...and for Barbara and her words:"

"Just came across your blog from SWD.  I see by reading various links that you are trusting in God to help you through this touch season of life.  And He will continue to do so.  Your writing is what hurting people need so they don't feel isolated or...crazy.  Somebody's got to express this stuff and you are doing a good job of it..."

Boy!  Talk about hitting home!  Barbara's words hit the two points I was struggling with:

1) my journey with a husband who has dementia which is getting worse, and a hearing problem, and treats me like crap a lot of times; and,

2) my struggle with feeling discouraged trying to write and feeling nobody was reading or need to read my words!

Well, I guess she told me...

And, I guess God finally got to me!

One last scripture helped change my heart, and me resolve to do better:

"Get rid of all bitterness, rage, anger, harsh words, and slander, as well as all types of evil behavior.  Instead, be kind to each other, tenderhearted, forgiving one another, just as God through Christ has forgiven you.  (Ephesians 4:31-32 NLT)"


And this scripture is the basis for my "change" for today and beyond...


Because I know it is I who needed to change!

And, with God's help, we can ride this journey together...peacefully, happily, joyfully!



AMEN!