Day 399 Practice Makes Perfect

Chipper and I spent the Memorial Day weekend in the Texas Hill Country with my cousin Robert and his wife, Pam, and dogs Bubba and Juno.  I have to mention the dogs because Chipper had a ball playing with the younger dogs and trying to keep up with them.  

While we were there, we took a drive thru the countryside and passed a retreat of some sort with a beautiful entry and a sign that read "Leave Your Worries at the Gate."  I thought how wonderful it would be if we could just do that, if we could simply drive through a gate and be worry-free.  Not likely to happen.  There are health worries and financial worries and family worries and national worries and every other little worrisome thing imaginable.

There is a "gate" however where we can become as worry free as human nature will allow and we all know where that is.   It is in the love and trust and belief in God, in His son, Jesus Christ and in the indwelling Holy Spirit.  It is a journey and a process, however, to get us to the point in our spiritual life where we can turn our worries over to Him and just let go of them.  Sometimes we cling to them like a security blanket.  Learning to let go and just let God take care of things is a practice just like the perfect dive or the perfect golf swing requires practice.   Am I there yet?   No.  Do I practice?  Yes.   I practice in study and learning more about the nature of God and I practice in prayer and, as the old saying goes, practice makes perfect.

"But blessed is the one who trusts in the Lord, whose trust is in Him.

They will be like a tree planted by the water that sends out it's roots by the stream.

It does not fear when heat comes; it's leaves are always green."

Jeremiah 17:7,8

 

Special people to please keep in your prayers today:

    Our friend Lisa is still going through the stem cell collection and the process is making her very sick.  Please pray that her stem cells increase so that the process can be quickly completed and that she recovers quickly and easily from the meds that facilitate the collection.

    Precious Bella's family reports that she mostly sleeps now and is unresponsive but is comfortable and free of pain.  Prayers for the family during this time that they feel the love and comfort of God surrounding them.

    Bryce's family reports that Bryce is feeling better, is still in the hospital preparing for his last chemo.  Prayers for this amazing 4 year old that the chemo destroys every last cancer cell in his body so completely that they never return.

    My childhood friend, Judy, whom I grew up with in Maracaibo recently underwent a knee replacement.  A terrible infection developed and the knee had to be removed, the cavity packed with antibiotics and a rod put in to immobilize the leg until it heals so that another knee can be implanted.  Please pray for Judy's complete healing, the success of the antibiotics and that she can finally be pain free. 

 

Precious Lord, Jehovah Rapha,

You are the God who heals.  Thank You, Father, for touching the lives and bodies of the people that we are praying for today.  Thank You for being the comforter that You are so that we may leave our worries at the gate that is Your loving and comforting spirit. 

Help us today to be better stewards of our bodies, the gift that You gave us the day we were born.

We thank You.  We love You.  We bless You.

In Jesus' name.

Amen