Lately, I have been hearing a lot about being “thankful.”  We just celebrated Thanksgiving last week, and we’ve heard so many stories about people feeding people with great needs.  Some people became homeless, or misplaced for a time from “Sandy,” and if that wasn’t enough then came the “Nor’ Easter” that added to the devastation.  Most people lost power for a day while others lost their power for a week or more.  I believe God uses ALL things for His glory: and Sandy and the Nor’ Easter were two disasters that He used to bring people together.  Churches reaching out, individuals reaching out, agencies reaching out, and it still is happening: people helping people. The Keswick maintenance team, working above and beyond their ability to get power back for the ministry, was awesome. It was God working in and through them giving them the wisdom and stamina that they needed.

On a personal note: I am so very thankful that God used these recent disasters to bring two sweet elderly neighbors to our home.  We opened our home to this sweet couple when we found out that they have no children and no family to turn to for shelter.  I saw God at work: half of our community had power after one day, while others in our community were powerless for a week.  We just so happened to be the part of the community that had power.  So, with that we knew that we were to open our home.  We noticed that some of our neighbors left to stay with family, while this very elderly couple remained home.  We invited them over and they graciously accepted our invite.  Hey, I would too if I were cold and hungry!  We were so excited to see God’s hand in this matter. I was praising God so much that I never even got tired of having company.  The only issue was they wouldn’t sleep over: they said “they’d be OK under the blankets.”  They came over during the day and stayed into the late night.

Here’s a chuckle: I go to bed at 9 most nights, but they are night owls.  Ha, I prayed for God to keep my eyes open because I wanted them to stay late to keep warm. After a week of getting to know these sweet people we learned so much about them.  The second day I popped the question “I would love to hear your life’s story.”  They shared their story and we were blessed to hear of their love for one another.  We not only got to know our neighbors, but now we have a relationship with them.  Our prayer is to show them Christ’s love, and to anyone whom the Lord sends our way. 

Our Pastor yesterday spoke on Matthew 9:8-26.  He said “There are 2 factors that will bring someone to Jesus 1) Great Need; 2) Genuine Faith.  Matthew 9:20 – The woman with a great need had the faith to touch Jesus’ cloak: Jesus said to her “Take heart, daughter; your faith has made you well.”  And instantly the woman was made well. 

Think about this “When Jesus has the last word those who hope in Him, are made to laugh again.”  Life’s circumstances may be horrendous but when Jesus has the last word we will laugh again.

Blessings,
Pat Spies