Dear Readers:

I have previously shared some of my sorrows and in doing so have allowed you to know, I have many frailties.  BUT TO GOD I give all the glory. For without Him, I could not make it.

You know of my long strife to sell my home in Oklahoma and finally move to Texas.  I have shared of moving in and out of hotels while trying to locate a home in this extraordinarily inflated and competitive real estate market. I have bid on countless homes, each time offering the recommendation of my realtor, but losing the bid. Thus, I wait; living out of a small suitcase-praying that God will grant me peace during this extensive and challenging storm of my life.

The clouds rolled in nine years ago when I found myself alone and bewildered. Then when I learned the rationale for the abandonment, the thunder roared and the rain fell. The storm would grow more and more intense. Yet God reminded me He was right there with me.

As I opened one of my devotions recently, it “spoke to me” and was too valuable to not impart to you, my readers. These words caused me to pause, knowing that some day when I have resumed some aspect of normalcy to my life, I will recall this storm was also a time of renewal; a time to be wrapped in the blanket of God’s love.

As Chuck Swindoll shared, “Father, we all have hopes and aspirations. We all have dreams. And though there is nothing wrong with these, how easy it is to be driven by them. How easy it is to feel that if our dreams don’t come true, we’ve somehow not been loved by You…We acknowledge before You that this life is not about us or our expectations.

Thank You that You never miss a person. When it’s time for promotion, You won’t be late. When it’s time for rewards, You won’t forget… we bow before Your mighty throne. We acknowledge that You’ve been good to us… You’ve cared for us when we’ve been careless. You’ve loved us when we’ve been terribly unloving, and You’ve met our needs when we didn’t even stop to think about what we ought to be giving to You and Your work…We ask this so that we might become for You messengers whose message makes sense because our lives are like Your Son’s life—the One who is gentle and humble of heart.” (Chuck Swindoll)

When the storms of our life pass and the “son” shines, we can truly see “more clearly.” We can see the areas of our lives that needed the nourishment from the rain-those weakened spots in our lives that needed to be covered with clouds for a while, so we would not be burned by the strong rays of Satan. We will understand the storm was the greatest gift we could have been given. Psalm 121:7 NIV, “the Lord will keep you from all harm-he will watch over your life.”