January 21, 2022

Dear Ones,

Happy weekend to you! Only -4 today! Burr!  I made a G.F. Lasagne this morning and took a friend from here to the Dollar Store. I was hunting for prizes for the grandkids that we will see in February.

Devotions from Judy’s heart

Don’t you love to see couples in love as they seem to go around with a smile on their face all the time, knowing they are special and loved. They want to tell everyone about their one and only!  One such couple came to Canaan’s Rest when we ran the retreat house and they were newly married. The husband had only good to say about his wife and went on and on about how wonderful she was. Years later they came back again, but by then his conversation showed that he did see areas in his wife’s life that could be improved upon!

I thought of our relationship with the Lord and how when we first come to know the Lord, it’s like our whole world is sparkling and full of love; we can’t keep the joy to ourselves and it just seems to spill over. We spend much time with Him in prayer, reading the Word and talking about Him to our friends and we seem to just float along. We tell others about how wonderful He is. But then when things happen in our lives that are difficult, we feel like our bubble has burst; we can lose some of our zeal for the Lord and we start complaining, God why did you let this happen to me?! But unlike the spouse that came to Canaan, God is love, He is all good all the time, and even when we don’t understand His ways, He has our best in mind. 

The Apostle John writes about God’s love and says in I John 4:10 & 16 (God’s Word), “This is love: not that we have loved God, but that He loved us and sent His Son to be he payment for our sins… God is love. Those who live in God’s love live in God, and God lives in them.” When we remember that Jesus loved us enough to give His life for us, it helps answer our questions about the depth of His caring and gives us the bigger picture of the extent of His love. Even though as spouses we have so much that can be improved upon, the Lord is perfect; He is love and will never will fail us, never! Let us share that love especially with those who have not yet come to know Him.

Challenge for today: When you are tempted to complain, give thanks instead to the One who loves you unconditionally.