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"Thoughts From the Youth Pastor's Wife"

Psalm 139:13-14, "For You created my inmost being; you knit me together in my mother's womb.  I praise you because I am fearfully and wonderfully made; your works are wonderful, I know that full well."

As I hold her, I wonder, as any typical parent, what the future holds for her.  Will she come to know the Lord at an early age?  Will she follow the Lord in ministry?  Will she choose to fall away or ignore our Savior?  What life experiences will she encounter?  Will Christ come again before she grows old?  Psalm 139:15-16, "...Your eyes saw my unformed body.  All the days ordained for me were written in your book before one of them came to be."

In speaking with a friend the other day, she mentioned that she had started listening to an astrologer on the radio who sounded like she knew all the answers to life's questions.  I responded, "She's guessing."  

"But it sounds pretty good to me." 

"She's guessing", I again said. 

"She says that when we die, we will all go to heaven and be 3-yr. olds" was her next comment. 

I was so aghast, that all I could mutter was that the Bible says nothing about turning into 3-yr. olds upon entering heaven.  As soon as I mentioned Scripture, my friend shut down, as is usually the case.  I couldn't help but wonder how this intelligent woman could even consider such an absurd thought. 

Jeremiah 14:14, "Then the Lord said to me, 'The prophets are prophesying lies in my name.  I have not sent them or appointed them or spoken to them.  They are prophesying to you false visions, divinations, idolatries, and the delusions of their own minds.' "

I spoke with another friend of mine who is also still searching for truth.  She is now into searching on the internet to find out life's answers.  It scares me to think of what she might find.  Psalm 33:4, "For the word of the Lord is right and true;  he is faithful in all He does."

All they have to do is see the miracle of creation and of their own bodies -of a newborn baby.  How intricate our bodies are and how everything works together and is interconnected.  I wonder how they don't choose to believe in the Creator, rather than coincidence.

God has a plan for you, and for me.  It says so in Psalm 40:5, "Many, O Lord my God are the wonders you have done. The things You planned for us no one can recount to You; were I to speak and tell of them, they would be too many to declare."   Even when I was a new Christian, and the only things I knew were that God loves me and Jesus died for me, God placed the knowledge in my heart that He had a plan for me. 

I didn't know what God was, but I knew there was a God, when He spared my life on the interstate one night.  I was driving 1-80 across Nebraska and woke up to find myself sitting at the wheel in a gas station parking lot.  How I exited the Interstate, turned into the driveway and stopped the car is beyond me, because I have no memory of it.  The only thing I know is that the car was still running, in gear, with my foot on the brake -when I woke up.  After that, I decided not to do stupid things like drive all night because God wanted me on this earth for a reason.

I look back at the life of Mary, Jesus' mother I, and see what plans God had for her.  I look at my life and pray for God to use me in whatever way He has planned.  And I look at our children, how exciting to see His creations, to marvel at His love for each one of us, and to know He has each one of us in the palm of His hand.

Psalm 48:14, "For this God is our God for ever and ever.  He will be our guide even to the end."

Diane