Every six months my kids receive a postcard from the dentist reminding them of an upcoming appointment, which reads "A Gentle Reminder...". God has given ME some "gentle reminders" this week. They have been reminders that He orders our lives and that He will sustain us where He leads us.
We had our first showing of the house last night. I picked up the kids from school and we worked solidly for 2 hours to get the house sparkling clean. Since it was dinner time when we had to leave the house, I contemplated where to go: didn't really feel like undertaking the hassle of a sit-down restaurant but wasn't eager to let the younger ones play in the "Pinkeye Pit" at McDonald's,either. What to do, what to do... I prayed aloud in the car with the kids and asked the Lord to bless the prospective buyer going through our home AND asked for wisdom where to eat dinner. I kind of chuckled with the kids that no request is too small or unimportant to God.
After driving around for a few minutes, Katie declared that she had to use the potty. To avoid a messy situation I decided to stop at the nearest restaurant, and --ta-da!-- McDonald's it was. We walked in and discovered it was Family Night, complete with a clown, face-painting and balloon animals. Best of all, the place wasn't busy at all! The girls and Luke were so excited about the festivities that they didn't even ask to play in the icky-sticky play area. High-five for mom!
While we were eating, a gentleman came over and complimented the kids on their excellent behavior and me on my ability to raise such a nice family. He stopped by our table repeatedly, but not rudely, to comment on our family. He seemed so encouraged to see a large, well-behaved group of kids. All the way home I was thanking the Lord for blessing my kids with a fun evening.
Okay, secondly: my phone died today. I guess I had dropped it one too many times and it just quit working. With Matt out of town, an ice storm imminent and no other phone available, I had to go to Radio Shack and purchase a new one. I debated whether to take the kids with me. Seth and Abby are fine left home alone while I run errands, but I wasn't comfortable leaving Luke and Nathan home. I was really torn -- take them with me to a non-kid-friendly electronics store or leave them home and worry about them the entire time? Literally, at the moment I decided to leave them home, our neighbor knocked on the door and said, "Abby mentioned that your phone broke. I'm not doing anything right now, so if you need to leave to get it replaced, I'd be happy to stay with the kids." Ha! Problem solved!
So...why did I make you read all of that? It's because as I was driving to Radio Shack, I remembered His promise that He knows our need before we even bring it to Him. He knew my kids needed somewhere to eat dinner and that my heart's desire was to bless them for working so hard to get the house ready. So, he gave us Family Night at McDonald's. He knew that I didn't want to leave them unsupervised today, so he sent Rachel over. Most of all, however, He knows that Matt needs a job, we need to sell our home and our family needs to be back together under one roof. Those are BIG needs. He cares about the little insignificant things like babysitters and restaurants; how so much more does He care about the major ordeals we face! Those little blessings were His gentle reminder that He takes care of us. He cares for the little sparrows, and He cares even moreso for those whom He loves. Thank you, Lord for reminding me that we're not left on our own. He'll take care of us.
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