9 year olds can be so wise...

I came upon something yesterday that reminded me of yet another reason I adore my Jazz. I found a little card she had made me about 5 years ago. It was a crookedly cut piece of a 3x5 card, and she had written on the front " With my God I can skale any wall! You can do it, Mommy!" Oh- I remember the day she gave that to me! We were living in Yacolt, dealing with broken down cars, a broken down marriage, and a feeling of despair as we looked at our life and couldn't see God in it. I was in nursing school and had to miss a clinical assignment because I couldn't get the van to start...and just bawled like a baby. The kids and I took a walk down the driveway (it was a little over a mile to the mailbox) to get the mail and some fresh air. My sweet 9 year old decided to forgo her usual mode of transportation (her incredible purple bike complete with flowery basket on the front and ribbons shooting out the handlebars) and chose to walk alongside me, hand in hand, the whole two miles. I remember getting back to the house with a little more perspective. Later that night, my sweet faced girlie brought me her handwritten card. You see, we had been memorizing Psalm 18: 29 in school ("with your help I can advance against any troop, with my God I can scale any wall"), and I had just been encouraging her the week prior that nothing God wanted for her was out of reach if He was giving her a boost.

What an amazing reminder she gave me...a reminder that with the Lord, nothing would be too overwhelming, nothing too difficult. Sometimes it amazes me how God chooses to talk to us...and through what mouths. Chad Eastham says it really well "You NEVER know how God can use you when you just be YOU." Thank God Jasmine is willing to just be her...sweet, tenderhearted, and an absolute blast. (And we REALLY worked on her spelling...much better now!)

"You, O LORD, keep my lamp burning;
my God turns my darkness into light.

With your help I can advance against a troop ;
with my God I can scale a wall.

As for God, his way is perfect;
the word of the LORD is flawless.
He is a shield
for all who take refuge in him.

For who is God besides the LORD ?
And who is the Rock except our God?" Psalm 18:28-31

(In other related news...God blessed me yet again yesterday in an unexpected way. My insanely patient husband knew I was feeling crummy, and this is what I came home from The Zone to:

Just call me "Blessed". May God bless and keep you today, with His people surrounding you, His Spirit within you, and His grace abounding for you)