Twenty more hours...

Twenty more hours.

That's how much longer I have until my husband returns from Africa. Just twenty more hours. In many ways, this has been the roughest trip for me with him away. You see, when we're most vulnerable, that's when the enemy tries to attack. And attack he did the last two weeks...mostly in our family. Many of you know Jacob's past health struggles, and unfortunately, they have decided to come to the forefront again, just in time for me to deal with them all on my own.

And therein lies the problem. The words "on my own." How often do we go through life, thinking we're 'on our own' with the feelings we have. We have our little pity parties because things aren't going the way we think they should. We think we're the only one who feels this way. We focus so much on ourselves that we forget to look outward. It's when we look at others, we realize how insignificant and small the problems we deal with really are. We get ourselves up in a tizzy thinking about all the issues at hand instead of thanking God for his bountiful blessings.

And truly, I am so blessed and rich with friends in my life. While Frank has been gone, one friend brought me dinner, another family had us over for dinner, and another family took us out to a restaurant for dinner. How awesome is that? Beyond words. Lord, forgive me for thinking "I'm on my own." Even more, Lord, You are here. You are here when Jacob struggles with behavior. You are here when Amber struggles with more hours of homework than she gets sleep. You are here in my sleepless nights of solitude. You are here, and I am never alone. Hebrews 13:5 "I will never leave you or forsake you."

And so, twenty more hours. That's twenty hours to turn my frown upside down. Twenty more hours to offer a helping hand to someone else. That's twenty more hours to try to encourage someone else. And that's twenty more hours to praise my God in the storms of life.

So when you're in a countdown, like I currently am, holding your breath until that moment you've waited for finally arrives, instead of trying to hold out, use every minute that you can for God. Praise Him. And thank Him that you have just twenty more hours.

 

Psalm 66:1-7 "Shout with joy to God, all the earth! Sing the glory of His name; make His praise glorious. Say to God, ‘How awesome are your deeds! So great is your power that your enemies cringe before you. All the earth bows down to you; they sing praise to you, the sing praise to your name. Come and see what God has done, how awesome his works in man’s behalf! He turned the sea into dry land; they passed through the waters on foot, let us rejoice in Him. He rules forever by His power, his eyes watch the nations – let not the rebellious rise up against Him.’”