David N. Walker's Blog, page 9

Texas Floods

A quotation attributed to Mark Twain says that everyone always talks about the weather but no one ever does anything about it. Of course, the scaremongers of global warming think they can do something about it, but that’s not our subject here.

The subject of this post is very definitely reality: the flooding that has inundated Texas for the last several weeks. One statistic I recently read says that 35 trillion gallons of rain have fallen here since the first of May. Stated another way, it’s enough water to cover the entire state of Texas to a depth of almost nine inches.

Nine inches deep from Texarkana and Beaumont to El Paso and from Texline to Boca Chica. That’s a mind-boggling amount of water.

Before all this rain hit, most parts of Texas were struggling to deal with a four-year drought. Farmers had missed several crops. Ranchers had been thinning their herds because there wasn’t enough grass for their cattle to eat.

Lakes all over the state were drying up. Lake Travis, a huge lake west of Austin, was a shadow of its former self. Lakes Palo Pinto and Hubbard Creek were almost totally dry, their mud beds filled with huge cracks. Marinas and boat docks throughout the state sat high and dry, far away from the waterline.

  

Small towns all over the state struggled to supply their citizens with water. The city of Wichita Falls actually began mixing recycled sewer water into its municipal water supply.

Most of those lakes that were drying up are now above flood stage. The marinas and docks that stood high and dry are now completely submerged. Most lakes ban boat traffic until the flooding subsides.

  

The first photo above is the Colorado River in Austin, swollen with overflow from Lake Travis, which a few months ago was predicted to be dry by 2016. The middle photo shows a road leading to Lake Lewisville which is closed due to high water. The third one shows stranded cars in San Marcos, flooded by the Blanco River, which is normally a fairly small stream.

It would be nice if Al Gore and other self-appointed experts who preach that all our weather ills would clear up if we quit driving cars could figure out how to spread all this rainfall out and eliminate the droughts and floods. Somehow, I doubt that is going to happen.

What weather extremities have impacted you or your loved ones?

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Writers may not have it all together, but together we have it all.

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For more information about David N. Walker, click the “About” tab above.

For more information about his books, click on “Books” above.

Contact him at dnwalkertx (at) gmail (dot) com or tweet him at @davidnwalkertx.

Filed under: Uncategorized Tagged: Advice, Authorship, Caring, David N. Walker Christian Author, David N. Walker Historical Fiction Author, Fancy Series, friends, Heaven Sent, Life, Life experience, Life lessons, Life truths, Life values, People, Personal development, Self-help, Texas drought, Texas floods

Thanking God for Atrial Fibrillation

For years now I’ve been preaching that we should thank God for flat tires. We all find it easy to thank Him for what we consider blessings, but we should thank Him for ALL things—whether we see and understand them as blessings or not.

As those of you who are Facebook friends with me probably know, I have been diagnosed with atrial fibrillation. This is not a painful condition. Its primary symptoms are shortness of breath and lack of stamina. Both of these are inconvenient, and the natural human reaction is to curse the bad luck that brings them on.

It may seem strange, but I thank God for my tendency toward atrial fibrillation. I can’t say I enjoy being short of breath or having no stamina, but the fact that I have a history of this condition has caused me to be on a medication called Warfarin for some years now.

This medication regulates the thickness of my blood to prevent the formation of blood clots. It’s entirely possible that without the Warfarin I might have suffered a stroke or a brain aneurism from a blood clot. Either condition could set in with no warning, and both are either debilitating or fatal, but I’m very unlikely to suffer either of these since my blood thickness is kept under control.

For over a decade now, I’ve had almost constant pain in one or both shoulders and arms. I even had to give up playing golf because of it. But I still have the use of both arms and shoulders. Hundreds, maybe thousands, of people have returned missing an arm or a leg because of defending me from Islamic terrorists, so why should I complain about pain in mine? I thank God I still have them.

I sometimes wonder if I’ll ever wake up pain-free and feel good all day long. But I had six decades of mostly pain-free feeling good, and I thank God for that. And my aches and pains are trivial compared to what a lot of people go through.

My brother-in-law has had to deal with cancer, and my wife lost her mother to cancer when she was only 30. My mother and my sister have both attended funerals for their own children. I’ve never had cancer. My mother is still here at age 99. And my daughter and all grandkids are alive and well.

I can’t remember the last time I went to sleep at night and slept through until time to get up the next morning. Frequently I only sleep three or four hours—and sometimes much less—before pain in my shoulders or stopped up nasal passages awaken me and leave me unable to get back to sleep. But I don’t have to go punch a time clock somewhere since I’m retired, and I can take a nap or two if necessary.

Although I’ve got nine books on the market—well, five since I combined some of the novellas—I lack the marketing expertise to get them to sell. It would be nice if they did, but I’m not a starving artist. My wife and I live comfortably whether any of the books ever sell or not.

Maybe I’m sharing more of my personal life with you than I should, but I do it to make a point. God provides for me. No matter how bad anything may be, it could be worse. And God is able to use everything in my life for my good. As He promised me in Romans 8:28 and 29, He is taking ALL things in my life and using them for my good to conform me to the image of His Son. That’s why I thank Him in all circumstances. What more could I ask for?

What things have occurred in your life that appeared at the time to be bad luck or horrible experiences but in retrospect you have been able to see as blessings?

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If you abide in Me and My word abides in you, then you shall know the truth, and the truth shall set you free.

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For more information about David N. Walker, click the “About” tab above.

For more information about his books, click on “Books” above.

Contact him at dnwalkertx (at) gmail (dot) com or tweet him at @davidnwalkertx.

Filed under: Christian Thoughts Tagged: Atrial fibrillation, Bible, Cancer, Christian, Christian Fellowship, Christianity, David N. Walker Christian Author, David N. Walker Historical Fiction Author, Faith, Fancy Series, Forgiveness, God, God is in control, Godly Wisdom, Grace, Heaven Sent, Holy Spirit, inspiration, Jesus, Sins, Works

Happy Birthday to a Special Lady

Forty-six years ago today, Jeanne Mathis Johnston, whose name back then was Jeannie Walker, got out of bed about 4 or 5 a.m. and began cleaning house. Strange time to do that, but I thought I knew what was going on.

Sure enough, she told me she was having contractions. They were so mild she wasn’t really certain whether she was in labor or not. Since there didn’t seem to be any big hurry, I waited until about 6 a.m. to call her obstetrician, who told me to go ahead and take her to the hospital.

Back in those days, the fathers weren’t involved much in the delivery process. I was allowed to accompany her to a little room where she would wait until the time came, and then I was ushered out.

A family friend was going to be her nurse-anesthetist, and she told me she would call me in time to get back to the hospital for the birth. I went to work and then met my dad for lunch. He would also be the baby’s pediatrician, so I was pretty sure I’d get the message when the time came.

Sure enough, he received a call before we finished lunch telling him to come on to the hospital. He went wherever doctors go at times like that, and I went to the fathers’ waiting room. As I said, fathers didn’t have much to do with childbirth back then.

I probably hadn’t been there more then 20 or 30 minutes when Dr. Savage, the obstetrician, came to the door and called my name. He told me I had a healthy baby girl.

Oddly, I’d never considered having a girl. Jeannie and I both talked about nothing but a boy throughout her pregnancy, but the moment those words came out of the doctor’s mouth I knew that a baby girl was what I’d always wanted. Don’t ask me how such things happen. I don’t know, but I can remember the feeling as if it were yesterday.

The first time I held my daughter and she wrapped her tiny fingers around mine, she and I both knew I belonged to her. As she grew up, she never tried to take unfair advantage of the fact she had me wrapped around her finger, so I was content to let it continue.

When mama and baby came home, my mother-in-law came to stay with us to help out, but when I got up for the 2 a.m. feeding (yes, in those days we fed babies on a schedule), she decided she wasn’t needed at night. Actually, I think I hurt her feelings a little bit, but this was my time with my daughter. Jeannie nursed her, so she got to do the rest of the feedings. This one was mine, and I didn’t share.

I’d heard horror stories about the terrible twos, about teenagers, and other such things, but I didn’t believe it had to be that way. As she grew up, I can honestly say there was never a time—she never went through an age or a stage—when I didn’t thoroughly enjoy her.

Due to her mother’s and my divorce, I wasn’t always able to be the father I’d like to have been, but there was never a day when either of us doubted our love for each other. Whether it was sitting on the hall floor rolling a ball back and forth or picking out a wedding dress, we’ve always had good times together. Well, there was one Christmas when I wanted to buy her a dress and she wanted a disco outfit instead, but we won’t go there.

On this 46th anniversary of that special day, I want to wish my daughter Lynn Walker Heatherly a Happy Birthday. I love you, sweetie.

I was going to embarrass her with a baby or toddler photo, but none of them are in my computer, so here’s one of her as an adult. She was dressed to accompany her husband Gary to a U.S. Navy ball. By the way, she gets her good looks and figure from her mother.

What do you remember about the birth of a daughter or son or brother or sister?

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Writers may not have it all together, but together we have it all.

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For more information about David N. Walker, click the “About” tab above.

For more information about his books, click on “Books” above.

Contact him at dnwalkertx (at) gmail (dot) com or tweet him at @davidnwalkertx.

Filed under: Uncategorized Tagged: Advice, Authorship, Caring, David N. Walker Christian Author, David N. Walker Historical Fiction Author, Fancy Series, friends, Heaven Sent, Life, Life experience, Life lessons, Life truths, Life values, People, Personal development, Self-help

Are We Under the Law?

In my Sunday School class the other day, the question arose, under the New Covenant, are we still governed by the law? A lively discussion ensued.

Someone quoted Jesus, who said in Matthew 5:17:

Think not that I came to destroy the law or the prophets: I came not to destroy, but to fulfil.

The other side of the argument quoted Paul, who preached constantly that we are no longer under the law. Among other statements Paul made on the subject, he said in Galatians 3:24-25:

So that the law is become our tutor to bring us unto Christ, that we might be justified by faith. But now that faith is come, we are no longer under a tutor.

Without going into the theology of how the law led us to Jesus, this statement makes it clear that once we accept Him in faith we are no longer under the law that led us there. How can this be?

Is the Bible contradicting itself here? Is it saying in one place that the law still applies and in another that it doesn’t? How can these two positions be reconciled? If the scripture is inerrant, which it is, how can it make two such seemingly opposing statements?

To me, there is no real conflict here. God hasn’t changed His mind and decided it’s okay for us to murder, or commit adultery or steal or do any of the other things He forbade in His commandments, other than the commandment to keep the Sabbath holy, which was superseded by the New Covenant.

The law itself wasn’t repealed by the New Covenant. It was the way God applied the law to us that changed. In Jeremiah 31:33, God announced His New Covenant as follows:

But this is the covenant which I will make with the house of Israel: After those days, says the Lord, I will put My law within them, and on their hearts will I write it; and I will be their God, and they will be My people.

Under the Old Covenant, the law was applied externally. God said don’t do this, and the people were expected not to do it. But even at the time He gave it, God knew human beings could not keep up an externally given law. It’s our nature to look a law in the face and decide we want to disobey it.

When I was a teenager and under the authority of my parents, if they said don’t do this, even though I realized they said it for my own good, I wanted to try it. To see what it felt like, or to see if I could get away with it, or for whatever reason. I saw the law of my parents as a challenge.

Knowing that, God gave us a New Covenant under which He would place His Holy Spirit inside of each believer to lead us in lawfulness. Rather than tell us, don’t do this, He would work inside of us to make it our own desire not to do this.

As human beings, we still have that nature within us to disobey, but the Holy Spirit is constantly at work chipping away at that lawlessness, changing our nature to conform with God’s own nature. We all resist that work within us, but the less we resist it, the closer the Holy Spirit will come to completing the work. It won’t be complete in any of us in this lifetime, but hopefully we’re closer today than we were yesterday.

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If you abide in Me and My word abides in you, then you shall know the truth, and the truth shall set you free.

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For more information about David N. Walker, click the “About” tab above.

For more information about his books, click on “Books” above.

Contact him at dnwalkertx (at) gmail (dot) com or tweet him at @davidnwalkertx.

Filed under: Christian Thoughts Tagged: Bible, Christian, Christian Fellowship, Christianity, David N. Walker Christian Author, David N. Walker Historical Fiction Author, Faith, Fancy Series, Forgiveness, God, God is in control, Godly Wisdom, Grace, Heaven Sent, Holy Spirit, inspiration, Jesus, Sins, Works

All Jammed Up

In my Tuesday post, I mentioned that I-35 was completely closed down in the city of Temple, Texas, last Sunday morning. The point of that post was thankfulness for God’s protection. This morning, I mention it for a different reason.

Part of the reason it took us an hour and a half to get past the blockage and back onto the freeway at a point where traffic was flowing normally was the unwillingness or inability of the Temple Police Department to act. I didn’t see one policeman doing anything to help the situation.

Access roads are not designed to carry heavy traffic loads. Their normal usage is to allow the few cars using a given freeway exit to get to the next intersection. Arriving at that intersection, drivers will be regulated in either crossing it or turning by traffic lights or by stop signs. This doesn’t put an onerous burden on anyone when the traffic flow is normal.

When all the traffic which normally moves through the area at 65 to 75 miles an hour is diverted on the access roads, however, the system breaks down. Traffic lights are set to accommodate the normal volume of traffic. They stay green long enough for a few cars to move through, and then they turn red while a few cars on the cross street move through.

When several thousand cars are backed up waiting for the light to cycle, this setup does not work well. Designed for normal traffic flow, the light only allows a few of the thousands of cars through before turning red to allow cross traffic to flow. Meanwhile the heavy load of traffic inches ahead a few car-lengths at a time.

The police department should have acted to change this. They should have called in as many off-duty, part-time, and volunteer personnel as necessary to man the lights and manually control them to allow many times as much access-road traffic to get through each cycle as normal.

The backup in traffic could not have been avoided. When an accident closes a freeway, there will always be a problem. However, a little prudent action on the part of the police could have made the delay maybe a half hour instead of an hour and a half.

What frustrations have you experienced with such traffic delays?

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We may not have it all together, but together we have it all.

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For more information about David N. Walker, click the “About” tab above.

For more information about his books, click on “Books” above.

Contact him at dnwalkertx (at) gmail (dot) com or tweet him at @davidnwalkertx.

Filed under: Uncategorized Tagged: Advice, Authorship, Caring, David N. Walker Christian Author, David N. Walker Historical Fiction Author, Fancy Series, friends, Heaven Sent, Life, Life experience, Life lessons, Life truths, Life values, People, Personal development, Self-help, Temple Police Department, Temple Texas, traffic

God’s Protection

It happened again Sunday. I’ve written before about the fact we should thank God in all circumstances—not only those where we can clearly see His blessing, but also those where it seems something bad is happening.

Sharon and I went to our youngest grandson’s graduation from high school over the weekend in New Braunfels, some 240 miles south of here, near San Antonio. Being with family and watching this wonderful young man walk across that stage was a real blessing, but that’s not what I’m writing about here.

Since my daughter’s mother and sister were in from New Orleans for the event, Sharon and I stayed in a nearby motel and let them have the guest bedroom. We get to be there a lot more often than they do, so we thought they should get to be around the family this time.

Sunday morning we got up and got ready for the drive back to Fort Worth. We were on the fifth floor of the motel, so I went down to get one of the luggage carts to haul our stuff out to the car.

Of course, at that hour of the morning, we weren’t the only people trying to leave, so all four of the carts were already in use. I sat down in the lobby to wait for one to be returned. And wait. And wait. Apparently, some thoughtless people grab the carts and take them to their rooms and just keep them while they shower and dress and pack. Or something. Anyhow, after I waited over twenty minutes with none appearing, I gave up and went up to haul our stuff down manually.

Did I mention that I always pack the kitchen sink when I travel? It was only a one night stay, but it took Sharon one trip and me two to get everything down to the lobby. Then, I went to get the car and pull under the port cochere to load the luggage, since it was raining cats and dogs. The net result of all this was that we were about thirty minutes later than we intended to be getting underway.

About twenty or thirty miles down the road, we came to a halt as all three lanes of traffic were bumper to bumper and moving a few feet at a time. After a bit, we could see flashing lights in the road ahead, and we ultimately discovered there had been a wreck, and police and fire vehicles were blocking the two left lanes.

As we passed the blockage and resumed normal freeway speed, it occurred to me that if we hadn’t been delayed we might have arrived at that point just in time to be involved in the accident. I don’t really know what time it happened, but it’s entirely possible God protected us with the delay.

About another hundred miles up the road, we came to another stoppage. We were in Belton, Texas, when the traffic stopped, and I mean stopped. We finally exited to the access road, along with about a million other cars, and inched our way along for miles. At length, we came to a point where all traffic was being forced to exit the interstate and merge onto the access road with us.

A little farther up, all traffic was being forced to detour. Both the freeway and the access road were completely closed. Fortunately, at that point I knew a way to go around the blockage. My route added several miles, but we came back to the highway beyond the problem—an hour and a half later. We discovered when we stopped at a convenience store that there had been horrible wrecks on both sides of the freeway. The southbound lanes were closed also.

Again, I don’t know what time the accident on our side took place, but for all I know, God may have used my delay at the motel to protect me from getting there in time to be involved. As bad as this wreck must have been to close the entire six lanes, I’m sure there were fatalities involved.

In honesty, I can’t say I was thanking God for the delay as we left the motel, but I certainly thanked Him in retrospect. We have no idea what bad things He spares His children from.

What things that seemed bad at the time have you ended up thanking God for?

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If you abide in Me and My word abides in you, then you shall know the truth, and the truth shall set you free.

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For more information about David N. Walker, click the “About” tab above.

For more information about his books, click on “Books” above.

Contact him at dnwalkertx (at) gmail (dot) com or tweet him at @davidnwalkertx.

Filed under: Christian Thoughts Tagged: Bible, Christian, Christian Fellowship, Christianity, David N. Walker Christian Author, David N. Walker Historical Fiction Author, Faith, Fancy Series, Forgiveness, God is in control, Godly Wisdom, Grace, Heaven Sent, inspiration, Jesus, Sins, Works

Celebration

We’re having a double celebration on today’s post. Please join us for cake and ice cream and coffee—and enjoy. Sorry – no bacon.

  

The first cause for celebration is that my sweet mother turned 99 yesterday. What a blessing to have this dear lady and wonderful mother in my life for so many years.

  

These are photos of Mother in her late 40’s or early 50’s and again at 98. She’s not always with us mentally these days, but she’s still the same dear lady who raised me, and she always lights up when I come to see her in her assisted living home. Very few of you know my mother, but if you don’t, raise a coffee cup or cake plate or ice cream dish to your own mothers. They all deserve it.

The second reason for the celebration is that I posted my 500th blog this week. It was actually Tuesday’s blog and not today’s, but who’s counting? That 500 doesn’t include the dozen or two that I published at an earlier blog site and don’t have accurate statistics for.

Among the 500 blogs are 113 on subjects relating to Christianity, 6 about waitresses who worked at restaurants I frequent, 132 on miscellaneous subjects, and 249 in the archives. I suppose I could break down the archives into classifications, but I decided not to go to that much trouble.

Writing these blogs has been enjoyable. I may not have the readers that a Susie Lindau has, but that’s okay. I try to write what God leads me to write, and doing so pleases me, whether my work is read by one person or 1,000.

Since I post twice a week, I should reach 1,000 blogs in the spring of 2020. I hope you’ll be there to celebrate with me at that time. Meanwhile, post a comment below with a link to one of your posts, and hopefully my readers will go over to check you out.

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We may not have it all together, but together we have it all.

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For more information about David N. Walker, click the “About” tab above.

For more information about his books, click on “Books” above.

Contact him at dnwalkertx (at) gmail (dot) com or tweet him at @davidnwalkertx.

Filed under: Uncategorized Tagged: Advice, Authorship, Caring, David N. Walker Christian Author, David N. Walker Historical Fiction Author, Fancy Series, friends, Heaven Sent, Life, Life experience, Life lessons, Life truths, Life values, People, Personal development, Self-help

God’s Protective Hand

Sunday morning, I got to see God’s hand at work. An answer to prayer appeared right before my eyes.

My wife Sharon left the house at 5:30 to take her best girlfriend to the airport. I was a bit concerned, because we were under storm warnings, and I was afraid she would have trouble getting there and back.

Not to embarrass her, but she’s the first to admit she’s not a great driver under the best of circumstances, and this didn’t look like the best. Born with a cataract in her left eye which in those days was not operable in a child, she has always had to get by with seeing through her right eye only. On top of that, I knew she couldn’t remember how to turn the defroster on in an emergency situation.

Sure enough, the storm hit with a vengeance while she was gone. She told me getting to the airport was fine, but it hit her on the way home. It was one of those where the rain hits the windshield so hard it’s difficult to see out. On top of that, the inside of the windshield began to fog up. She couldn’t find the settings for the defroster by feel, and she was afraid to take her eyes off the road for even a couple of seconds to try to find them.

As soon as I heard the storm hit, I began to pray for her safety. I told God I was afraid she might not be able to manage it on her own, and I asked Him to bring her home safely. I prayed several times while I waited for her.

Sure enough, when she pulled into the driveway and under the carport, she was almost catatonic with fear. She told me the only things she could see as she drove were the little reflectors imbedded in the road to mark the lane separation. She couldn’t see well enough to pull off onto the shoulder. All she could do was follow those reflectors.

Fortunately, the rain let up before she got to her exit, so she was able to find it. I don’t know what she would have done had it not abated.

When I told her I’d been praying for God to bring her home, she said that was probably the only thing that got her here. She didn’t believe she had done it under her own power alone. I reminded her that God never promised us there would be no storms, but He did promise He would be with us through the storms. I’m so thankful we have a God who is willing and able to take care of His people.

What examples of God’s protection have you experienced?

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If you abide in Me and My word abides in you, then you shall know the truth, and the truth shall set you free.

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For more information about David N. Walker, click the “About” tab above.

For more information about his books, click on “Books” above.

Contact him at dnwalkertx (at) gmail (dot) com or tweet him at @davidnwalkertx.

Filed under: Christian Thoughts Tagged: Bible, Christian, Christian Fellowship, Christianity, David N. Walker Christian Author, David N. Walker Historical Fiction Author, Faith, Fancy Series, Forgiveness, God is in control, Godly Wisdom, Grace, Heaven Sent, inspiration, Jesus, Sins, Works

Real Heroes

What constitutes a hero? How do we decide who’s a hero worthy of praise and public adulation?

This morning’s Fort Worth Star-Telegram featured a large front-page picture of a man who died yesterday. That was followed by a two-page article about what a great man he was. This was a man who’s claim to fame and heroism was that he was clever enough to get elected to Congress and then stay in office without standing for any principle.

When I was in college back in the early 60’s, it was said about a certain Southern politician that whenever someone asked his position on an issue, he would reply that half of his friends were for it, half were against it, and that he was for his friends. That fit the man our newspaper was honoring today to a T. If he ever had a strong conviction about any principle during the 35 years or so he was in office, I never heard mention of it. He finally left office in disgrace after it was discovered he wrote some book and sold copies by coercing people seeking to do business with the government to buy them.

During his first term in office, this man figured out that if he could manage to take credit for contracts awarded to General Dynamics and Bell Helicopter, two of the largest employers in the county, people would feel grateful to him for their jobs and for the general prosperity of the area. He rode that horse to stay in office for the rest of his career.

Politician’s are usually known and supported for being liberals or conservatives—for having and defending certain principles. This man never publicly proclaimed himself to be either liberal or conservative or anything else. He was for his own reelection and whatever winds would blow in the right direction to achieve it.

We named a freeway after him, just as Dallas named a freeway after a man who had a courthouse burned down once to destroy any records of fraud in one of his early elections. Why do we do things like this?

Are there politicians who deserve the title hero? Yes, but not just because they were clever enough to win elections. I would not have voted for Harry Truman had I been a voter in his day, but I respect the man, even while I disagree with his politics. At least you knew where he stood. He was a man of principle and a hero.

You might not have voted for Ronald Reagan, but most people would agree that he was a man of principle. At the time he came into office, our nation was in the midst of a horrible economic problem called stagflation. Our prestige around the world was at an all-time low ebb. He restored our national pride, got the economy moving, and caused the demise of the Soviet Union. He was a man of principle and a hero.

While most politicians are serving themselves and their own egos, men and women are being killed or wounded in the armed forces trying to keep our nation free. Others risk their lives daily protecting us from criminals or fighting fires. These people are the real heroes. Where are their monuments? Where are the freeways named after them?

   

Whom do you think we should honor by building statues and naming bridges and freeways after them? Who are the real heroes to you?

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We may not have it all together, but together we have it all.

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For more information about David N. Walker, click the “About” tab above.

For more information about his books, click on “Books” above.

Contact him at dnwalkertx (at) gmail (dot) com or tweet him at @davidnwalkertx.

Filed under: Uncategorized Tagged: Advice, Authorship, Caring, David N. Walker Christian Author, David N. Walker Historical Fiction Author, Fancy Series, friends, Harry Truman, Heaven Sent, Life, Life experience, Life lessons, Life truths, Life values, People, Personal development, Ronald Reagan, Self-help

The Faith of a Little Child

The following piece is one of the stories in my book Heaven Sent. It’s such a powerful demonstration of faith, I thought I would reprint it here.

Sitting in church one morning some years ago, I saw something so ordinary and simple and yet so beautiful that I was overwhelmed by it.  I hope I can convey the power of what hit me.

A young couple sat in front of us with a baby in an infant seat between them turned so that the baby—who my wife discovered was named Anna Grace—faced us.  Throughout the service—praise and worship, announcements and sermon—the mother sat with her hand lightly touching Anna Grace’s cheek.

Anna Grace rested one of her little hands on the back of her mother’s hand and the other on her arm and just smiled contentedly.  A little later she fell asleep with her hands remaining on her mother’s hand and arm.

The picture was one of unbounded love from the mother to the daughter and of unquestioning trust from the daughter toward the mother.  Resting securely in her mother’s touch, Anna Grace was totally at peace.

The church service and the crowd of people around me ceased to exist as I gazed at this picture.  God reminded me that He loved me infinitely more than this human mother loved her daughter and that I needed Him infinitely more than Anna Grace needed her mother.

There was much going on around Anna Grace that she could not understand.  Our sanctuary holds a couple of thousand people.  Our music is pretty loud and lively.  Strange people (us) were staring at her.  Was Anna Grace daunted in any way by all of this?  No!  She was at peace, resting in her mother’s touch, totally confident that her mother would bring about what was best for her despite anything going on around her.

This was the most powerful picture of God’s rest I’ve ever seen.  He promised us that He would take ANYTHING that happened in our lives and use it for our good—not some things, not most things, but ALL THINGS!  He didn’t promise there would never be pain or that all would always go the way WE wanted it to, but He did promise our ultimate good.

This infant, Anna Grace, was reminding me to rest in God and be anxious for NOTHING!  Not to worry about circumstances around me, not to worry about what I was going to eat or how I would pay for it.  Not to be bothered or troubled—period!

God has already let us see the end of the book.  We know how it comes out.  We win!  But more than just winning in the end, He has promised that He is in control in the meantime if we’ll just surrender ourselves to Him and rest in Him.

The contentment on Anna Grace’s face spoke volumes more than I can hope to write here.  I just hope I have given you a glimpse of what God showed me in this infant and her mother.

What examples of faith have you seen in the world around you?

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If you abide in Me and My word abides in you, then you shall know the truth, and the truth shall set you free.

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For more information about David N. Walker, click the “About” tab above.

For more information about his books, click on “Books” above.

Contact him at dnwalkertx (at) gmail (dot) com or tweet him at @davidnwalkertx.

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