We can HOPE but we also have to BELIEVE

Hebrews 10:35-39

New International Version (NIV)

³⁵ So do not throw away your confidence; it will be richly rewarded.

³⁶ You need to persevere so that when you have done the will of God, you will receive what he has promised. ³⁷ For,“In just a little while he who is coming will come and will not delay.”and,

“But my righteous one will live by faith. And I take no pleasure in the one who shrinks back.”

³⁹ But we do not belong to those who shrink back and are destroyed, but to those who have faith and are saved.

   Yesterday, I spent time in Hebrews, mainly chapter 11. I feel like God has been really confirming for & in me, how much we really have to not only hope, not only DO the steps but to firmly believe. It's like when you pray for someone, you want God to heal them & you believe he can but how often do you boldly say LORD I believe in your healing powers right now? It's almost like you hold back because what if it doesn't happen right? What if God has other plans? Well he talks about in Hebrews how David, Samson, Samuel and many others, never saw what he had promised, yet in chapter 11 ⁹ These were all commended for their faith, yet none of them received what had been promised, ⁴⁰ since God had planned something better for us so that only together with us would they be made perfect. 

   I got to thinking, this is confirmation for what he has been doing in my friend Kelly's life. I do firmly believe that a miracle will happen. I believe that God is going to bring restoration to her life. Now this doesn't mean that I might be in every step, this doesn't mean that I might still be in her life when this happens but I do believe it and I do believe that what God is using me for is part of the process. This confirmation makes me stand up to fear that arose yesterday when I knew that at some point, very soon, I would have to talk to her caregivers. Having this confirmation changes the way that I will approach them, my confidence in him and his word, I firmly believe will bring peace. 

   Is this the 1st time that I have had faith like this, that I firmly believed in what God can do? No, but I do think that we tend to forget. In Max Lucado's book Fearful, he says that fear causes us to have spiritual amnesia, that fear makes us forget what he has done & that affects our belief in what he will do.

   Yesterday, I was having a day at the house, cleaning, homeschooling, ya know, in my housewife clothes, hair pulled up and hadn't gotten a shower yet. All of a sudden Olivia says, "is Mrs. Kelly suppose to come here today because I think that is her coming up the driveway"! Sure enough, she walked up the driveway and I had to fight back tears. I knew why she had come, she had come to work off her small grocery bill from Sunday. She came up, dug in her bag and pulled out one the most beautiful things that I have seen. Remember me telling you about her rock collection? She had picked up some in my driveway the other day and told Olivia that she would make her a bunny. Then, I couldn't imagine the beauty in what she could do with some rocks but when my eyes saw this bunny, I saw her imagination her creativity. 

   I wish my phone photos could really show you the beauty. I took a picture of the side of it, to show you how she picked just the perfect rocks for the arms and legs, to show dimension and realness. She found an orange rock for a carrot, the details are just precious. Kelly apologized over and over because she wasn't able to use a certain clue that wouldn't show on the bunny. Honestly, I don't think that she could have picked a more grateful child. This is something that Olivia will cherish forever. I encouraged Kelly to come over anytime because Olivia would love to paint and do crafts with her. I told her over and over how gifted she was, however, she looked puzzled because she had always believed that it was insignificant. How sad because I had to turn away when I saw her give my daughter this gift, my tears couldn't be stopped at that point. She has a goal of making enough of these to go to the Canton flea market in October and I believe that she can do it and I believe that God will bless her sweet heart and her gift.

   Kelly had been walking since 9am, just walking her normal route on the hwy, she went to her caregivers and was heartbroken from what went on there, then walked to my house. To give you an idea of how long this took place, she arrived at my house around 3pm. She said that she was out of cigarettes and her medicine and was too nervous, she just had to walk. When she got to my house she was tired though. She wanted to work, I told her there was no need but she insisted to pay off her bill. I convinced her to let me take her home so that she could get a nap and she could work on another day. 

   I expect that she will come back today and I look forward to it. I expect that she will be in my life a lot for a however long and in my heart, I know that this is exactly what we both need. I am sure that I will have to set some boundaries with her visits, times and what not but that will be a growing thing for her. Hopefully things will work out with her caregivers and she will have her cellphone turned back on at some point.

   This has brought to mind, the downtown Jackson  ministry, WE WILL GO. They are turning Jackson around by living in the middle of it all, turning out crack houses into homes, by showing the love of Christ but most of all, believing that HE can do all things, that HE can bring restoration. 

   It also brings to mind lyrics to the song My Savior My God... "you count it strange, so once did I, before I knew my Savior". 

   Amen!!