"Owie, Mommy!" Becky cried after she'd skinned her knee roller skating on our front sidewalk.  

"Oh, sweetie, I'm so sorry. Let's get you fixed up," I unlashed her skates, then led her by the hand to the bathroom, sat her down, and retrieved first aid supplies from the cabinet. 

We'll need to cleanse the 'owie' first, Honey," I said, dabbing at the slightly bleeding wound as tears trailed down my five-year-old's cheeks. "Now, we'll put a little bit of this antibacterial ointment on the band-aid, and now we'll place it on your knee," I said and "threw a kiss" on it for good measure.  

Becky looked down at her bandaged knee, stopped crying, and then looked up at me, her large blue eyes intent as if she was waiting for something more. I knew that look—my child's anticipation, the longing, the want for all that love can supply—more than what a band-aid can provide.  
 
My daughter smiled as I gave her a big hug and held her close. "Is your knee feeling better now, Sweetie?" I asked. She nodded.

"You're not going to let that bad old sidewalk hurt you anymore, are you?" I said with a smile as Becky giggled. "Nope!" she exclaimed, sliding down from my lap. She'd had enough of roller skating for the day and opted to play school with her dolls.  

I was happy that my little girl's "owie" was better. But only if the hurts she'd experience later on in her life could be so easily remedied!    

It takes more than a band-aid to heal some of the things that lie deep within our hearts. However, there is an answer. What about love? Just as the way "love is applied" to a skinned knee, so, too, we can apply love to other hurts in our lives.  

Sometimes we tend to make things more complicated than they should be. However, the answer to the ills that befall us is really quite simple. Might we look up—to the One who created us in His image, to the One who created love. Yes—the immense love God has for us, the love He freely gives to us without condition. All we need to do is ask. The Lord is compassionate, ready, and waiting to comfort us and sooth our hurts and sorrows.  
  
Love—it's so much more than a band aid! 
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"For God so loved the world that He gave His one and only Son, that whoever should believe in Him shall not perish but have eternal life." - John 3:16 

​Photo: N. Johnson

A surprise gets your attention, doesn’t it? Perhaps it’s a surprise birthday party, wedding shower, baby shower, or the celebration of a promotion or retirement. Or, maybe you are given a gift you didn't anticipate. Whichever it may be, such surprises put a smile on our faces and bring us joy.  

The wonder of a surprise is the unexpected. On a drive home after vacationing in the mountains, my husband and I enjoyed our stay. We had a nice time away; however, we had other concerns on our minds, including the health of those dear to us and prayers for those who had recently lost loved ones.  

As we came down the canyon, I hardly noticed the scenery as I focused on reading a story.  

"Look!” my husband called out suddenly.

My attention diverted, I lifted my nose out of the  book just in time. Looking to our left, the multi-color hues of a double rainbow stretched across the horizon. To our right, the eye-candy feast of an orange, yellow, and peach sunset cascaded against a backdrop of purple mountain peaks. Bright white billowing clouds touched down, rolling across the desert floor like they belonged there. Then, an opening of blue in a distant cloud poured out a stream of glistening rays of light upon the land.

A few vehicles pulled off the road to watch. God had dabbled in His sky artistry, in a way that only He can do. “Surprise!” He seemed to say, grabbing our attention at the marvelous setting before our eyes. This moment was a gift. We smiled, our hearts filled with joy, as the worries and concerns of the day seemed to instantly melt away. It was as if God's signature was being written across the sky, with His love pouring down upon all creation. 

We usually think of surprises as coming from our friends and family—but they come from God, too. And He is the ultimate gift-giver!  

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What surprises have most touched your heart lately, and how have God's gifts impacted your life? Feel free to comment. 
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“For God so loved the world that He sent His only Son, so that everyone who believes in Him may not perish but have eternal life.” – John 3:16 

Photo courtesy of Vecteezy.com

Growing up, Mom had a saying I heard often. “You’d better believe it!” She’d say this if I doubted her, disregarded her advice, or if she wanted to emphasize a point.

Years later, when I married and had children, my mother and mother-in-law developed a close bond. They enjoyed each other’s company at family gatherings and spoiled our girls as grandmothers often do. My mother shared stories of her faith, and my mother-in-law likewise conveyed her beliefs. They were good support and encouragement to each other.

As time passed, my mother-in-law, Clara, became ill. We learned she would need open-heart surgery to replace two heart valves. However, due to co-existing health conditions, the surgeon indicated the procedure could pose risks, and it did. The surgery was complicated, and Clara’s post-surgical condition in the I.C.U. was guarded.

One night, exhausted from a full day at the hospital, I collapsed into a sound sleep. At three o’clock in the morning, I awoke suddenly.  I felt as if my mother-in-law (still in the I.C.U.) was speaking to me. We’d often talked on the phone, so in a way, it didn’t seem so unusual—except this message was being delivered to my heart in milli-seconds.

“This is your dear ‘Mum.’ You know how much I love you all. I’m getting ready to go up to see God the Father. Take good care of my dear son and the girls…”

Other words of endearment flashed into my mind, but I couldn’t catch onto them—the message faded.  

I didn’t know what to think. Was this for real—or was I dreaming? But if I was only dreaming, why did I lay awake, unable to get the message out of my mind?  

Finally, I slept. A few minutes after eight o'clock the following day, we were awoken by the loud ring of the phone. I answered. It was the soft voice of the I.C.U. Nurse. She hesitated, her voice cracking as she delivered the news.  

“I’m so sorry,” she said. “We just lost your mother-in-law. She had a sudden, massive heart attack.”
She was gone! I looked up at my husband. We cried.  

Despite the sorrow, I felt a sense of calm. I asked the nurse if anything unusual had happened during the night. She hesitated momentarily. “Your mother-in-law’s blood pressure dropped at three this morning,” she said.  
   
I gasped. It was the same time I awoke to the “message.”  I hadn’t been dreaming after all—if I had only known!  

We phoned my mother to relay the sad news. She was as heartbroken as we were. “But it was a blessing that you and Clara have always had a strong faith,” I told her.  

“Yes,” my mother replied. “You’d better believe it.”

It has been many years since my mother and Clara passed away, but if I could talk to them again, I’d tell them how grateful I am for all they taught me about having faith. It started by simply saying, I believe.

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“For God so loved the world, that he gave his only Son, that whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life.” – John 3:16
 
Photo courtesy of Vecteezy.com
Story appeared in a blog post from October 2016.  

It's a nice feeling to be welcomed, isn't it? Maybe it's a simple "Hello!" from an associate as you walk into a store. Or perhaps you are greeted with a handshake in a business setting, or you are welcomed as a new neighbor, a new member of a club, or as a new visitor at church.  
 
We have many opportunities to meet people, whether we're signing onto a Zoom session online, or stepping outside the boundaries of home.  

I love meeting people in person; perhaps you do, too? There is something about human contact that helps quench the longing in our souls for a sense of belonging and companionship. We want to feel needed, cared about, and loved. 
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God never intended for us to be solitary creatures. Instead, He designed us to be in community with one another. In the grand scheme of things, we are meant to form meaningful relationships with others, to help one another, to carry each other's burdens, and to love one another (see Genesis 2:18, 1 Peter 3:8, and Galatians 6:2, and John 15:12-13). 

It is a comforting and joyful feeling to be welcomed by others. As we are welcomed, in turn, we welcome them into our presence. It is a reciprocal relationship. The next time you say, "Nice to Meet You" (or when you are the recipient of this greeting), be reminded that you are meant to be connected to others.  

There is a well-known painting that depicts Jesus standing before an unopened door, knocking. It is a beautiful representation of Jesus' desire to connect with us. A verse in Matthew 7:7-8 is fitting here: "Ask and it will be given to you; seek and you will find; knock and the door will be opened to you. For everyone who asks receives, the one who seeks finds; and to the one who knocks, the door will be opened." 

A verse from John 10:9 reveals the Lord's words. He says, "I am the door; if anyone enters through Me, he will be saved, and will go in and out and find pasture." 

If Jesus were to knock at your door today, how would you respond? 

Do you already know Him as your Savior, guide, teacher, caretaker, counselor? If so, you know His love is all encompassing. If you don't yet know Him, He would want you to know that He loves you more than you can imagine, and He wants to be part of your life. Invite him into your heart. He will welcome you with open arms! 

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With the shelves nearly stripped of food items, you would have thought there’d have been a raid on sale items at a grocery store. But this was no grocery market—these shelves lined one wall in our kitchen pantry. 

The only people who raided this pantry? Us. Not usually in a greedy way, unless searching for a snack led to impatience, or if I was late getting dinner ready and my family insisted they were "starving to death."
  
This story took place years ago, before credit cards, computers, and cell phones, when moms often stayed at home to raise children. I was fortunate to be a stay-at-home mom, and we were lucky to qualify for a government subsidy program to obtain our first home. 

We were excited to have a place of our own, but we didn't realize how expensive it could be to maintain. My husband made decent wages, but when appliances broke, the A/C quit cooling, the roof needed repair, or we were faced with other expenses that came out of the blue, we struggled to make ends meet.  

During one particularly lean week, there wasn't much left in the pantry and we'd have to wait a couple of days until Richard got paid, to buy anything.    
  
I scanned the nearly empty shelves, searching for something to use for dinner. What can you do when these are the only items left on the shelves:

One can of yams. One mostly used box of Cheerios. One opened package of elbow macaroni (which I had to throw out due to mealy bugs). One partial bag of stale tortilla chips, and one can of mushroom soup. That was it. We were out of eggs and bread, too. Payday couldn’t come soon enough!

Feeling desperate, I prayed. “Lord, please help me find a way to make a meal."
    
Tending to chores, I put a load of laundry into the washer and hoped God heard my prayer. I washed and dried dishes from lunch. Then, as I put the silverware away, I noticed the casserole cookbook my mother-in-law had given me. It was sitting on top of the telephone stand next to the counter. 

I picked up the cookbook, not expecting to find a recipe—but I found one with the following ingredients: yams and mushroom soup. I was stunned.

I followed the recipe, mixing the yams with the mushroom soup, adding cheese, onion powder and spices, then baked per the directions.   
 
My husband was amazed I'd found a recipe for the ingredients we had in the pantry, and I told him about the prayer. The girls weren't crazy about the casserole, but they ate it. They were happy to indulge in the leftover cornbread I'd made the day before, slathering it with peanut butter.    
    
I’ll always remember the day God answered that prayer. There were other times we humbly asked God for help during those early years. Sometimes we had to wait for answers; other times not. Sometimes what he provided was not what we wanted, but what we needed. His provision was always something good, often better than what we would have chosen for ourselves.   

God provides. You can always count on the blessing of His abundance!
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“Ask and you it will be given to you; seek and you will find; knock and the door will be opened to you. For everyone who asks receives; the one who seeks finds; and to the one who knocks, the door will be opened.” – Matthew 7:7-8

Photo courtesy of Vecteezy.com