April 5th, 2013

Hey, everyone! 

Hope you're having an awesome day, filled with praise! Wow! You have a Dad in Heaven Who knows exactly what you'll need today and exactly how to make sure you have it on time!! Who wouldn't praise Him?!  

Todd the weather guy says it's gonna be an awesome, sunny, and warmer day today! Well, actually, he said, "Decreasing clouds in the morning, with sunshine returning by afternoon…" Besides saying, "Hope you're having an AB day!" (that stands for "absolutely beautiful"), Todd just gives you the weather and that's it. Sometimes, some of his colleagues in the meteorology department occasionally (or almost all the time) give you a little more than you were asking for. Sometimes, after they drop the forecast on you,  they offer "suggestions" about how to face the day outside your door. 

Mostly, they tell you what to wear. But sometimes they even share other advice.  

"You're gonna need the umbrella and coat as you head out the door today…" or, "Don't forget the gloves or the mittens and the hat as you leave the house and give yourself plenty of extra time to make it to work today…"

I personally don't have "the mittens" and haven't since I was seven. 

There was one weather girl a few years ago (Jennifer)  who was kinda bossy about it! "MAKE SURE you grab the galoshes and scarf as you head out the door today…" I was just waiting for her to tell us, "It's gonna be clear and sunny, but MAKE SURE you floss those teeth when you brush this morning! And two cups of coffee is enough for you!" She was more of a "motheorologist" than a "meteorologist" 'cause she sounded like your mom when you were ten, headin' out to wait for the bus! 

I'm thankful that someone cares that we're ready for what we might face today! When it's raining a lot, Todd sometimes reminds us that it only takes 18 inches of water to wash your car off the road! "When you come to a puddle…Don't drown! Drive around!" Thanks, Todd! 

But sometimes…

Things happen in your day that you really didn't expect and can't prepare for! Sometimes it gets complicated! Sometimes…even when you're in the middle of it…you don't know what you need to happen to make things go better! 

If you turn to God, you're not even sure what to ask Him for! It's like you're not even smart enough to know the solution you need! In fact, it's not "like that"…It IS that! 

"God, HELP!! I don't know what the answer is! I'm not even exactly sure what the problem is! I sure don't know the best thing to ask for! You know what's best! Do that! Amen!"

Many of y'all know our kids are in Africa, "giving it their all" to adopt two precious baby boys and give them a family. It's complicated! There are tons of obstacles and maybe even situations they haven't anticipated. So, I ask God for every specific we know to ask. But lots of times, I'm praying more than anything, "Dad! Give them all they need today! Fix stuff! Give them…You know!…whatever it is today! Open doors!…Smooth the way!…Meet the need!…Hear their cry!…Do what You do!!!" 

Sometimes, you just don't know how to say it! You just don't know the words. And loads of times, you couldn't say it better than that! The Apostle wrote:

"In the same way, the Spirit helps us in our weakness. We do not know what we ought to pray for, but the Spirit himself intercedes for us through wordless groans…" (Romans 8.26)

Is the best you can say just a moan? A groan? A sigh from your knees? Paul says the Spirit of God Himself is the One Who helps you when you can't find the words!  In fact, He's giving you "the wordless words"! 

As the Paul Overstreet song says, "You say it best when you say nothing at all!" 

One time, Ruth Graham, Billy's wife, was walking the streets of the town in China where she grew up as a missionary kid. It was her first trip "home" since she'd come to the states to live. She was talking to a produce shop owner outside his stand on one of the streets when a little raggedy boy walked by and stopped to admire the fruits he couldn't afford. The grocer looked down, felt a twinge and said, "Hold your hands out." The kid just stood there motionless. "Hold your hands out, son!" the shop owner repeated. The boy just stared up into his face. Finally, the grocer dipped his huge hands into the cherries in the bin and held them out. The boy pulled the bottom of his t-shirt out with both hands to catch all the cherries that rained down from the hands that poured them down!  

"Why didn't you hold your hands out?" Ruth asked the kid, standing there with a shirt full of fruit and a grin on his face. 

"His hands were bigger than mine!" he answered.

That's the weather! (You're gonna need the sunscreen as you head out the door!)