It Will Be Well

The delightfully cool spring air held my face as I gazed out the window of the room where my daughter sleeps. 

The crab apple tree's blooms nestled almost up against the screen, their sweet perfume tucking inside the folds of the lovely stillness of the night. 

Outside, the birds sang their final notes, hushing into the dusk. 

And a peace settled into my heart.

After the busyness of the day, after the troubles and the trials and the testings and the failings and the perseverings and the surrenderings and the whole lump of it all. 

Peace settled there in my heart.

And these words drifted into my mind: "It will be well." 

The words that the Shunnamite woman spoke when her son died, just before Elisha brought him back to life by the power of the Holy Spirit. 

It will be well. 

And I have a quiet knowing in my heart tonight that despite all the fears, all of the disturbances, all of the worries and struggles, it will be well. 

The world in turmoil, devastation--destruction, sorrow, pain, unrest . . . and yet, it will be well. 

Circumstances around us may be closing in, constricting, squeezing the life and breath and hope out of our lungs  . . . and yet, it will be well. 

Uncertainty about the future, worry, fear, distraction . . . and yet, it will be well. 

I read the story about David defeating the great Goliath-giant to my daughter before she went to sleep tonight. 

One tiny stone . . . and all was well. 

One tiny, insignificant stone . . . and the Lord brought down a Giant of fear. 

The problems of the world . . . it will be well . . . for the nations are as a drop in the bucket for our mighty God and even now He is fulfilling His purposes through them, however unaware they may be. 

My circumstances . . . the Psalmist tells me that the Lord will "perfect that which concerns me (Psalm 138:8). . . it will be well. 

Uncertainty about the future . . . 

Many things about tomorrow
I don't seem to understand
But I know who holds tomorrow
And I know who holds my hand.

All will be well.

And in the deepest sense, All IS well. 

All is well . . . because it is well with my soul.

Through difficulty, through uncertainty, through fear, through unrest . . .

Because I know who holds tomorrow . . .

And I know who holds my hand. 

All will not be easy, but all will be well . . . and my great Father never will leave me or forsake me. 

The sky sleeps now and I write . . . my two-year-old softly breathing in her room and my baby laying just a few feet away. 

He will cry out for me tonight and I will hear him and comfort him and lay him back down. 

And all will be well. 

For . . . 

"As a Father has compassion on his children, so the Lord has compassion on those who fear Him, for He knows our frame He remembers that we are dust." (Psalm 103:13)

And all is well. 

You might find me on these link-ups:

Strangers and Pilgrims on Earth, Inspire Me Monday, The Modest Mom, What Joy is Mine, SDG Gathering, A Mama's Story, Mom's the Word, Rich Faith Rising, Time Warp Wife, Cornerstone Confessions, Mom's Morning Coffee, Motivate and Rejuvenate Mondays, So Much at Home, Raising Homemakers, Hope in Every Season, A Wise Woman Builds Her Home, Woman to Woman Ministries, Whole-Hearted Home, Testimony Tuesday, Tell His Story, A Soft Gentle Voice, My Daily Walk in His Grace, Women With Intention Wednesdays, Messy Marriage, The Charm of Home, Graced Simplicity, Theology Thursdays, Children Are A Blessing, Mittenstate Sheep and Wool, Imparting Grace, Preparedness Mama, A Look at the Book, Essential Thing Devotions, Thought Provoking Thursday, Every Day Jesus, Count My Blessings, Christian Mommy Blogger, Renewed Daily, Soul Survival, Good Morning Mondays, The Weekend Brew, Blessing Counters Link Party, The HomeAcre Hop, Mommy Moments Link Up, Grace and Truth Linkup, Faith Filled Friday, Saturday Soiree Blog Party, Tell It To Me Tuesdays, SHINE Blog Hop, Faith and  Fellowship Blog Hop, Motivate and Rejuvenate Monday Link-Up, A Little R&R Wednesdays. TGI Saturdays Blog Hop. Totally Terrific Tuesday

In the Small Things

My little girl was turning two, so we planned a small birthday celebration. 

I decided on a menu, and my Mama said that she would take care of the cake. 

She helped me a lot this year. The crisis with my eye was just settling down, and I wasn't able to get out very much while it was healing. 

So she thought that it might be nice to order the cake - just something simple, from Stop-and-Shop, one of the local grocery stores. 

We were doing a Winnie-the-Pooh theme. My daughter loves Winnie-the-Pooh, and I thought that the bright colors and cheerful characters would be just right for a 2-year-old's birthday. 

We were excited as we planned out the details. 

About a week before, my Mom went into Stop-and-Shop to ask about ordering a cake. The Winnie-the-Pooh-themed cake was cheerful and sweet for a child's birthday; the colors were bright - and a simple Winnie-the-Pooh plastic centerpiece would be affixed to the middle of the cake, the lady behind the counter explained. But when my Mom learned how much just a small cake would be, we re-thought the decision; my Mom lives on a tight budget and the cake would have been a significant expense for her. 

But then she went back to the bakery department a few days before the birthday. She noticed a couple of plain cakes ready to be transferred to the reduced bakery rack. Then she learned that the Winnie-the-Pooh centerpiece could be bought separately from the cake. 

If she came back the next morning, one of the ladies told her, she could buy a plain cake from the reduced rack and put the centerpiece on it herself. 

So she bought the centerpiece. And then my Mom returned back again. Early in the morning. 

But the cakes weren't on the reduced rack yet. My Mom waited and then finally asked a different woman who was working in the bakery department when they would be going out. 

"I don't know what you're talking about," was the lady's huffy reply. 

"But someone in the bakery department told me that these cakes would be reduced today . . . " my Mom spoke to the woman.

"Well, I don't know who told you that..."

My Mom left the store, downhearted, disappointed by what had transpired. 

She told me that in the car, she brought it to the Lord, asking for forgiveness for being frustrated in her heart with the woman in the bakery department who had answered her brusquely. 

As my Mom drove, she suddenly remembered that there was another Stop-and-Shop nearby--

She entered the store, headed to that Stop-and-Shop's reduced rack, and looked in amazement. 

The brightly colored Winnie-the-Pooh cake sat there - without the centerpiece - and priced just under 10 dollars, in perfect condition. 

Amazed, she picked it up and paid for it, rejoicing and praising the Lord all the way home. 

And when we ate the cake on Sunday, it was deliciously fresh, even though it was a "reduced" cake. 

My little daughter loved it; the centerpiece adorned it beautifully, and again we were reminded that -

Our Lord's hand is in the small things - He works in the minutest details of His children's lives, He answers the simple prayers of our hearts -

Meeting a woman's need -

In His perfect, all-providing way, 

Down to the tiniest detail. 

Because He loves His children.   

You might find me on these link-ups:

Strangers and Pilgrims on Earth, The Modest Mom, What Joy is Mine, Yes They Are All Ours, Missional Call, A Mama's Story, Mom's the Word, Rich Faith Rising, Time Warp Wife, Cornerstone Confessions, Mom's Morning Coffee, So Much at Home, Raising Homemakers, Hope in Every Season, A Wise Woman Builds Her Home, Woman to Woman Ministries, Whole-Hearted Home, A Soft Gentle Voice, My Daily Walk in His Grace, Messy Marriage, My Teacher's Name is Mama, The Charm of Home, Graced Simplicity, Children Are A Blessing, Mittenstate Sheep and Wool, Imparting Grace, Preparedness Mama, A Look at the Book, Essential Thing Devotions, Count My Blessings, Beauty Observed, Christian Mommy Blogger, Renewed Daily, Soul Survival, Good Morning Mondays