Big God, Small World

I was reminded this week of a family story I hold dear to my heart. There was a knock on my front door. Sunshine, the elderly lady who lived next door, stood sweetly on the familiar Brandon threshold holding an envelope in her hand. She had something she just had to tell me. It took her a little too long to get it out. I wondered what was wrong. "You know, Bev, every morning I hear your Barrett---(my oldest son)---rev up his engine at 5:15 am and roar loudly right past my front window driving down our short street of one block." Uh oh! I thought to myself---she finally has had the courage to come tell us that he's disturbing all the senior citizens in our block with his 1975 International Scout---if you know that kind of car, you know it is really a noisy engine! Six days a week, Barrett drove to early morning swim practice and our one block neighborhood knew when he pulled out of our driveway. So, I braced myself to respond correctly to my elder. Instead, Sunshine's words to me stung my eyes with tears, melted my heart like wax. This is what she said: "You see, Bev, every weekday I am already up at 5:15 am, meeting with my Lord, usually on my knees when that yellow thing roars by. I want you to know that I can't make his high school graduation, but here's $10 for your boy. And I want you and Barrett to know that I prayed for him every morning that I heard his engine coming down our street for the past four years. I prayed for your boy to grow up to be a man of God." This mom melted right there on my threshold. I'll never forget Sunshine in that May moment. I didn't know many people who were specifically praying for my boy to be godly other than his parents. You never know who is praying for you.

That was the story my gracious God brought to my mind this week when I received an early morning phone call from my daughter in Thailand. Precious missionary friends of Brooke had just received the devastating news that their young son had been killed in an automobile accident back in the States. I sat at my picture window and wept for a family I don't even know. I knew they were in the air flying back on a very long flight as I prayed... and I thought about their arrival back to their familiar home without their little buddy. I asked my sovereign good God for His Presence and His Power for this precious family to find Him in this. I was overwhelmed for Phil and Pam---I still am. I thought of Gen. 21:16 when Abraham grieved over losing his son..."lift up your voice, God hears, God opens our eyes to see." And I prayed Psalm 3:3 that my beautiful God, their sovereign God would be the lifter of their heads." How do you even hold your own head up when tragedy strikes? They are surrounded with the favor of our good God as with a Shield, Psalm 5:12. Their loving Lord will be their confidence, Proverbs 3:25, in their sudden disaster. Oh God! Give them grace for they are humble people and so low right now but safe in your Hands. Help them to lay hold of all Your Words with all of their hearts, Proverbs 4:4. The nearness of You good God is their good. Looking out my window, I thought about how we can pray for someone and don't even know them. I thought to myself, this couple has no idea who is praying for them today---they would never have any way of knowing that this Texas mom was so moved in their loss wherever they live---up around Missouri, I think. I finished my quiet time with my present God and went on with my morning. I checked my blog, then went to the LPM blog...a comment caught my eye...please pray for a missionary family who lost their son in an automobile accident. I couldn't find an e-mail or blog to respond to so I asked Amanda to post a comment on the LPM blog from me to a girl named Kathy inquiring if it could be the same family...Kathy responded back to my post---it was. She had just gone to the funeral. I told Kathy to tell Phil and Pam that they will never know who is praying for them. They don't walk alone for a big God in our small world is moving on their behalf. This precious missionary family needs our prayers. Pray for these devoted Christ followers whom we don't even know but will spend Eternity with---and we'll meet their beloved boy, Chris, There! He'll be waiting...