"Though you mount on high as the eagle,
and though you set your nest among the stars,
I will bring you down from there,
says the Lord." Obadiah 1:4
I've come to a conclusion.
My husband and I are to truly live day by day, trusting the Lord in all His Sovereignty. Some folks don't have to do that. I don't know why. I really don't. They not only have their needs met, they have an abundance to do whatever they want to do--spend it on big cars, boats, fancy houses, vacations, and designer clothes. Not us.
We have the same old 1994 van we purchased back in 1999. No fancy home. No vacation in over 20 years. And anything designer is what I happen to come across in my scavenger hunts at Goodwill.
When my husband suffered his heart attack that has forced us to take early Social Security, it really hurt us financially. He had hoped to hold out till he was 66 so he could get full benefit. As life would have it, we will now lose over 200-dollars a month because he couldn't wait. Then we had this grand idea to also tap into the pittance of an annuity we managed to accumulate the last 9 years of his ministry. And low and behold when we began the process three weeks ago our portfolio (is that what ya call it?) lost over 10,000 dollars. Gotta love the DOW and the foolishness of indebtedness.
What once was a booming fast-growth "nest" egg, is now a bit cracked. So, what does one do when faced with a drop in income of over 1,500 dollars a month with an increase in expenses of over 1,000? I don't know. I really don't.
But one thing is certain. I don't have to know. I don't need to know. If I did, the Lord would tell me. And since He hasn't provided any clear answers I get to rest in the fact that His grace is sufficient to meet my needs.
What "nest" I've set among the stars is in His keeping. If He wants to bring me down from what I'd thought was my security, then so be it. If the comfort I found in knowing my husband was a healthy man is replaced with the knowledge that he will never be what he used to be, then so be it. If my health doesn't improve enough for me to get a job, then so be it. For what the Lord brings down, He can also raise up. And should He desire to keep me in the wilderness of wonder, then I can count on Him for the manna each day. I suppose that is how my journey will proceed.
And after all, we aren't promised tomorrow anyway. Only today. What a way to live! Don't you think this is rather exciting? I do. selahV
[copyrighted, SelahV Today, 2007]
