Chase the Bus

“The thought of my suffering and homelessness is bitter beyond words. I will never forget this awful time, as I grieve over my loss. Yet I still dare to hope when I remember this: The faithful love of the LORD never ends! His mercies never cease. Great is his faithfulness; his mercies begin afresh each morning. I say to myself, “The LORD is my inheritance; therefore, I will hope in him!” The LORD is good to those who depend on him, to those who search for him. So it is good to wait quietly for salvation from the LORD.” (Lamentations 3:19-26, NLT)
“And the very hairs on your head are all numbered. So don’t be afraid; you are more valuable to God than a whole flock of sparrows.” (Luke 12:7, NLT)

“Look at the lilies and how they grow. They don’t work or make their clothing, yet Solomon in all his glory was not dressed as beautifully as they are. And if God cares so wonderfully for flowers that are here today and thrown into the fire tomorrow, he will certainly care for you. Why do you have so little faith?” (Luke 12:27-28, NLT)

This morning I woke up at 3:30 am in my son’s bed. I had fallen asleep while tucking him in because I had a migraine that started at 3:30 yesterday afternoon and would not go away. Although I had been sleeping on my right side, my left hip was in tremendous pain. I decided to try to lay back down in my bed until my 4 am wake-up call. That is when I drag myself out of bed to put my body through torture. Well, some would call it that, but I actually know that I will be energized once I get past that initial thought. Once I start my workout, I begin to feel like I can conquer the world. But this morning, I didn’t feel like I could conquer the world. I have been in a funk for about a week, struggling to make sense of circumstances and a bad dream over the weekend. I was feeling hopeless and wondering how God could forgive me for dwelling on this horrible dream at the end of a “funk” week.

As I lay in bed trying to get some more rest, I could not go back to sleep. There was nothing on my mind, and I know that at this point many people would remind me that maybe this was God wanting me to pray for someone. So I kept trying to doze off, but to no avail. Finally at 4:15, I made myself get up. As I jumped in the shower God began to soothe my spirit as the clean water cleansed me physically. I realized that the “someone” God wanted me to pray for was me…and not in a selfish way. I needed prayer so I could be the best mom and wife possible. So I began to pray. It was a simple prayer, asking God to basically be my rock. Of course He wanted to honor this prayer, but I had my part to do…to put away dwelling on this horrible dream and trust that God is in control of my life.

As I worked out, my hip quit hurting and my spirit along with my body were energized. At the appropriate time, I got my daughter up so she could get ready for school. At one point, my coworker called me to let me know she would not be in the office today. I could have been discouraged by this (truthfully my natural man was), but I had to trust that God was in control and would work every detail out. I finished my workout with vim and vigor but had no time to play around. I ran upstairs to finish getting ready for work. At 6:32 am, my daughter came up and asked for her lunch money and asked when Daddy would be ready to take her to the bus stop. I told her to head up there because he needed to finish getting dressed. I chased her down the stairs to hug her and tell her I love her before rushing back upstairs to finish getting ready to go. I had just enough time to make it to work on time. As I talked to my husband about our daughter, I told him she was putting her jacket on and was going to head up to the bus stop. Suddenly, there was a pause in my spirit that prompted me to look out the window. As I took in the view from that upstairs window, I realized that there was no way she would catch the bus. She was only half-way to the corner and the bus was pulling up. The bus started to turn the corner away from her, so I took off down the stairs, threw on my shoes and glasses, grabbed my purse and keys and ran out the door. My daughter was in tears, but I had control of the situation. I unlocked the car as I told her to get in. We drove after the school bus and finally caught it around the corner where she was able to get on the bus. She was happy, and although I was now late for work, I was filled with happiness for her and pleasure in knowing that my taking control of the situation had met her needs.

It was then that I realized this is how God feels about us. We are His children. When we have needs and we come to Him, He takes control and meets our needs. As He does this, He feels that same sense of happiness and pleasure that I felt being able to give my daughter the gift of not having to be late for school. God reminded me at that moment that His mercies are new every morning (Lamentations 3:19-26). He also reminded me that the lilies don’t toil or spin and yet God clothes them with more splendor than Solomon was clothed. (Luke 12:27-28) God reminded me to have faith in Him and to know that he cares about every hair on my head. (Luke 12:7). God reminded me that He is always ready and willing to “chase the bus” for me.