Wednesday, April 28, 2010

A Piece of Quiet

In light of what I wrote about yesterday, I thought today it would be appropriate for me to share a quiet moment I had last week.

It had been an OK day, but a very stress-full evening.
*Gathered the kids together after school to run up to church to take pictures for the new directory.
*Rushed home to get dinner ready - to get Matthew to soccer practice on time - which he ended up skipping because he 'didn't feel well.' (There was a BIG scene involved in that one. *sigh*)
*Tried to support Brian as he dealt with an angry Joshua.
*Took Elizabeth to the store so she could spend her gift card. (She is very particular, and though I tried to be patient - wow! - was that ever a loooong shopping trip.)
*Turned my phone on to find out what time it was (And maybe encourage Elizabeth to make a buying decision. *sheepish grin*) and found out I had a voice mail. From the secretary at school. Telling me I needed to make some phone calls to round up help for an activity at school. But I didn't want another 'thing' added to my To Do list!
*Finally made it home after a stop at one more store, and went downstairs to read to Elizabeth while she took her shower. (Because she asked the right question.) But she wasn't ready yet.
So I slipped my hand in my pocket and felt a piece of paper there. I took it out and read:

The Lord your God is with you, he is mighty to save. He will take great delight in you, he will quiet you with his love, he will rejoice over you with singing.
Zephaniah 3:17

And I sat down on the steps, leaned against the wall, and let my tears flow as I responded to that verse. I prayed, Lord, I KNOW You are with me, and You are mighty to save. Please take delight in me. Please quiet me with Your love. Please rejoice over me with singing!

And for just a moment, I had a piece of quiet.

I sat and let my Father hold me.

And when I heard, "Mom! I'm ready!" I stood up and went in to read to my daughter. Knowing God was with me, and trusting Him to quiet my anxious heart with His love.

Karen

9 comments:

Sara K. said...

Awesome, Karen! That's how I want to be.... finding God in the midst of frustrating or overwhelming circumstances! I used to have bundle of notecards with Scripture verses I'd written down, which I'd keep readily accessible on the kitchen island, but I've gotten out of that habit. I like your verse-in-the-pocket concept. I just love the idea of God putting a little reminder to me of His love right into my hands like that. :) Thank you for sharing!!

Karen Hossink said...

Sara - You're welcome!
Honestly, I had gotten out of the habit of carrying Scripture in my pocket, too. Have been back at it for a month, or, so. And it is soooo good!

luvmy4sons said...

God is so good. I get so overwhelmed by life sometimes...just like that moment of which you wrote. Aaaah. Jesus! Balm to the soul!

Patricia said...

Whew...that sure was a busy evening!! What struck me in your story was when your daughter said, "Mom, I'm ready!", at that point so were you! God is soooo good & His love unfailing!!

I'm off to get my scripture in my pocket now! :)
Hugs, my friend!!
Patricia

Jessica Nelson said...

I love how powerful the bible is, and how God speaks so clearly to us in it.
What a wonderful post! This makes me want to cut up some verses for my pocket during stress-full nights. LOL

What a day for you...

gianna said...

Perfect! That's awesome! I wouldn't have thought that was the perfect verse for your day, but it was.
I love how you are so transparent with how the word of God speaks to you!

Karen Hossink said...

Leslie - The best Balm there is!

Patricia - Yes. God knew I needed that time to get ready, too, didn't He?
He is good. All the time!

Jessica - Let me encourage you to get cutting! *grin*

Gianna - And I love how perfectly HE speaks. He just knows what I need. *peaceful sigh*

Angie Muresan said...

Karen, I cannot get over the fact that you read to your daughter while she showers. How do you do it? Do you scream at the top of your lungs?

Karen Hossink said...

Angie - I do have to talk loudly. And if I'm speaking the next day, I usually tell her, "No."
But her shower really isn't that bad.
The boys' shower, on the other hand? I quit reading to them a long time ago - because in that bathroom I really did have to yell.