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

Have you ever looked at something without really seeing it? (If you're nodding yes, me too). I admit I've done it many times. For example, yesterday, with my morning coffee in hand, I stepped onto the patio to join my husband at the picnic table. I hadn’t noticed that he’d moved the patio umbrella and rearranged some of the furniture on the patio.  (I thought I was awake, but as I looked, I only saw what my mind believed rather than seeing what was there).

One time, someone asked me about the decor of the building where I'd worked for years. I'd seen the same rooms and the same hallways every day, and do you think I could remember the details of the wallpaper, the color of each of the rooms, the wall decor, or the tiles? There were a number of details I'd missed. The same goes for noticing other details: the name of the clerk at the checkout counter, or remembering what a friend was wearing when we met for lunch earlier? Or, how often do we get in our car, travel the same route, and not see what is around us?

A few days ago, my husband and I traveled to the mountains on a road we'd taken many times. However, due to active construction, the traffic traveling in our direction was stopped for 20 minutes. I joked that we were taking the “scenic” route, but that was precisely what had taken place. 

With the cool temperature in the low 70s, we rolled down our windows as we waited. But instead of merely “looking” at the forest surrounding us on both sides of the road as we usually did while driving,  we had an up-close view of things we didn’t usually notice. Pinecones of all sizes were scattered across the forest floor. We marveled at the way the pine needles on the Ponderosa Pines were sectioned and the way the needles slanted in the same direction. Some branches were grayish-black in color; others were fully needled and sprinkled in greenery. A Blue Jay swooped down onto a branch, cackling, it's dark blue feathers two-toned. A striped chipmunk scampered to the top of a fence post, nibbling on a nut or some other lucky food find. A swift, cool breeze swept through our car windows as pines swayed, the scent of fresh pine filling our nostrils. 

Between the treetops, variegated rays of sunlight danced upon the forest floor, and illuminating the bright greenery of the moss on the logs and rocks. In contrast, the bright colors were well-defined by dark shades of grayish-chestnut of the bark of the pine trees. We closed our eyes, invigorated by the fresh mountain air. 

We were still stuck in place in traffic; however, by taking notice of our senses, we took in so much more than usual. When the traffic delay ended, we almost wished it would have lasted longer to bask in those moments of peaceful relaxation. Within minutes, we were back on the road, traveling the speed limit through the forest-lined highway. 

The 20-minute delay felt like a hidden blessing. If we hadn’t had to stop for construction, we would have missed the up-close, scenic rest time.

A delay could have been inconvenient for someone in a hurry to arrive at their destination. Fortunately, that wasn’t the case for us, and the stop proved to be a mini detour that brought us moments of wonder, relaxation, and joy.   

The next time you are faced with a delay, hopefully it won't be when you are in a big hurry. Instead, I hope that it will offer you time to reflect on the hidden blessings that surround you—the things that often go unnoticed in the busyness of life.    
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"God looked at all he had made, and he found it very good." - Genesis 1:31
 
Photo courtesy of Vecteezy.com