Just the other day my oldest brother's tiny car sat out in the driveway being loaded down with suitcases. It was dark and I was tired, just ready to start the trip. As a seven year old who had just completed first grade, I no doubt had my pillow and some stuffed buddies securely tucked under my arm. You see, my older sister and I were going to spend a couple of weeks with my brother who lived in a condo in Florida. He was stationed there with the US Air Force. I was beyond excited to get to go and live with my big bro for a bit! As a little girl, I thought he hung the moon (now I know better, but I still think he's a pretty awesome guy)!
As a kid, I was a watcher. I think all kids are. They watch and study and try desperately to figure this life-thing out. It's a good thing God gave me older siblings. They provided plenty of hours of observation! My brother didn't know it then, but what I was about to observe in him was going to help "set" my course in life, if you will.
We were well into our journey and it was still dark. I had been lulled to sleep in the backseat by the steady hum of the road. Suddenly, I became aware that we had stopped. It wasn't at a rest area either! We had pulled off on the side of the interstate. My brother's matchbox-sized car was shaking at the passing of each transfer truck. In my drowsy state, I remember my sister telling me that we had car trouble...everything was going to be fine...go back to sleep. Yeah right! Go back to sleep?! Who was she kidding?! Car trouble, in the middle of the night, on the highway, with no parents around to help?! This is major! As I sat in the backseat wide awake, I looked around for my brother. Turning towards the back of the car, I found him...kneeling.
As my brother prayed and I battled fear, he was schooling me in how to handle those moments when life throws you a curve ball, those times when your trip is derailed. You kneel. You pray. You seek God for the answers FIRST, well before you try any other methods. Even at the age of seven, I was "getting it".
My brother prayed and prayed and then got back in the car, his twenty-one year old self beaming with confidence. He set his watch on the dashboard, waited for a certain length of time, and when that time had passed, he turned the key. Do you think the car started? You better believe that car started!!!! It started right up on the first try, no sputters, no nothin'!!! God had made it start!!! God showed up, people!!! He showed up in our hour of need on the side of that lonely highway because my brother had certain faith that the Lord would not leave us stranded! God responds to that kind of faith. It's His love-language. What a lesson!
Up to that point, as far as I can remember, God and Jesus existed in the stories I had heard at church. I was eager to learn about God, but wasn't quite sure if He was real yet. That night, however, began a change in my heart. I had seen faith in action. I had witnessed a miracle. That night, I started to believe those stories about God just might be true and that God was who He said He was.
For His glory,
As a kid, I was a watcher. I think all kids are. They watch and study and try desperately to figure this life-thing out. It's a good thing God gave me older siblings. They provided plenty of hours of observation! My brother didn't know it then, but what I was about to observe in him was going to help "set" my course in life, if you will.
We were well into our journey and it was still dark. I had been lulled to sleep in the backseat by the steady hum of the road. Suddenly, I became aware that we had stopped. It wasn't at a rest area either! We had pulled off on the side of the interstate. My brother's matchbox-sized car was shaking at the passing of each transfer truck. In my drowsy state, I remember my sister telling me that we had car trouble...everything was going to be fine...go back to sleep. Yeah right! Go back to sleep?! Who was she kidding?! Car trouble, in the middle of the night, on the highway, with no parents around to help?! This is major! As I sat in the backseat wide awake, I looked around for my brother. Turning towards the back of the car, I found him...kneeling.
As my brother prayed and I battled fear, he was schooling me in how to handle those moments when life throws you a curve ball, those times when your trip is derailed. You kneel. You pray. You seek God for the answers FIRST, well before you try any other methods. Even at the age of seven, I was "getting it".
My brother prayed and prayed and then got back in the car, his twenty-one year old self beaming with confidence. He set his watch on the dashboard, waited for a certain length of time, and when that time had passed, he turned the key. Do you think the car started? You better believe that car started!!!! It started right up on the first try, no sputters, no nothin'!!! God had made it start!!! God showed up, people!!! He showed up in our hour of need on the side of that lonely highway because my brother had certain faith that the Lord would not leave us stranded! God responds to that kind of faith. It's His love-language. What a lesson!
Up to that point, as far as I can remember, God and Jesus existed in the stories I had heard at church. I was eager to learn about God, but wasn't quite sure if He was real yet. That night, however, began a change in my heart. I had seen faith in action. I had witnessed a miracle. That night, I started to believe those stories about God just might be true and that God was who He said He was.
For His glory,
