Special Christmas Present

The night I got home from college, Julie and I drove straight into Fairmont to surprise Mom at work. After we saw her, I went to Woodland (where i work) to visit my favorite residents (i try not to have favorites, but some of them are just so sweet, it's hard not to like them extra :) Ervin is the most special of them all! All you have to do is meet him, and you'll understand why. He is so sweet! His hobby is building puzzles - He builds them every day all afternoon, and ends up framing a lot of them. (In 1988 he built a 7500 piece puzzle - it's huge! he has it hanging on the hall wall outside of his apartment). Anyways, when i was in the hospital this summer he built this puzzle for me. It is a puzzle of Jesus, my Shepherd. It reminds me of the 23rd Psalm. I thought it was neat, because one of my favorite books is one written by Elizabeth George about the 12 promises of God from that passage. I had been reading that book again while I was in the hospital. One of my favorite verses is I Peter 5:7 - "Casting all your care upon Him, for He careth for you." The first promise in Ps. 23 is the promise of God's care: "The Lord is my Shepherd." "When fear regarding the cares of this world sets in, we must remember God's promise to care for us." - Elizabeth George. This summer I learned the importance of completely trusting God, and replacing the "seen" with faith that is "unseen." There was so much waiting involved with every decision that had to be made, and then to see if it was the right decision; and if not, there was waiting again. Waiting was definitely hard, but Jesus knows His sheep and what it takes to prepare us to walk along the way, and He knew that was what I needed - His way is perfect. Waiting creates an opportunity to learn to trust the Lord, and causes us to grow in patience until we are finally content to just be with the Lord, and it encourages us in God's presence (as there is much more time to be spent in it), and spending this time with the Lord energizes for what lies ahead. We experience fear when we try to imagine or anticipate future events, but the truth is that when we need God's grace, it WILL be there. "Valleys are merely passageways that bring us into greater closeness with our Lord. It is a great art to learn to walk through the shadowy places. Do not hurry; there are lessons to be learned in the shadows that can never be learned in the light. You will discover something about God's ministries you never knew before. Walk with Him through the dark valleys until you trust Him in the dark ever as much as you trust Him in the light!" I am so thankful for the promises of God my Shepherd. I truly believe He worked a number of miracles in my life this summer, and I am SO thankful for that, and for the example of unwavering faith and trust in God from both of my parents through past trials, and from mom as she spent EACH day with me in the hospital. The Lord has blessed me so much to have given me the best mom in the world!
So the puzzle is and will always be special because of the reminder it is of the promises of God, but also because it is from Ervin - who is always such an encouragement and blessing to me every day I come in to work. He is so special, and always will be :)
"The Lord is my Shepherd, I shall not want.
He maketh me to lie down in green pastures. He leadeth me beside the still waters. He restoreth my soul.
He leadeth me in paths of righteousness for His names' sake.
Yea, though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil. For Thou art with me.
Thy rod and Thy staff, they comfort me. Thou preparest a table before me in the presence of mine enemies. My cup runneth over.
Surely goodness and mercy shall follow me all the days of my life, and I shall dwell in the house of the Lord forever.
Amen."

"We can thank God, our Shepherd, that

His care is unceasing,

His love is unending,

His guidance is unfailing, and

His presence is everlasting."

- Elizabeth George