March 1, 2010
“In repentance and rest is your salvation,
In quietness and trust is your strength…”
Isaiah 30:15

As I meditate on this scripture the Lord has given me for this day, many things come quickly to mind. Repentance…being honest with myself about myself as I stand next to the Lord’s plumb line. I fall (fail) so many times as I am walking beside the Lord in this life. Rest…I can rest in the Lord’s loving arms as the Great Physician and Healer bandages my skinned up knees. This is a beautiful picture of our salvation. It is not a single event. It is a way of life, an ongoing process as we walk and often stumble on the path beside our Lord, and He is faithful to comfort us along the way. Sometimes He has to carry us. He is a loving savior and a gentle friend. His name is Jesus.
As I am quiet with my Lord, He speaks to me. He comforts me. I must be quiet so I can hear His sweet voice. And as He speaks to me, my love for Him grows, my trust in Him deepens. He strengthens me. My confidence is in Him, not in this world, or in this economy (or lack thereof). There is no other name. Only one – His name is Jesus.
Here is the framework – now what? Well, as I look at my various baby plants waiting to go outside yet another day, I am tempted to be aggravated. Another day I can not plant them and must carefully guard them against toddler and little boy hands. Another day I must water and remember to bring them in at night so they don’t freeze to death (I forgot one time and they almost died!). Will winter never end? Doesn’t the Lord know how full my brain is with everything else (like remembering that our three year old has to poopie today because he didn’t go yesterday and if he goes too long he gets constipated and that reminds me- did I go today?) The answer is yes, He knows.
And what about the beautiful sermon I gave at breakfast today on I Corinthians? Paul’s discourse on “…the most excellent way…Love is patient, love is kind…” We had an activity to get to by 10:00 am, so I skipped breakfast in order to read this passage while the children enjoyed their lovely meal I had prepared (fresh fruit and homemade whole-wheat muffins). I was interrupted, however, not by angels singing, but by everyone arguing with someone about not getting the muffin they wanted. Again, I was tempted to pull out my hair and scream up to the heavens as to what was going on up there because I certainly needed help down here. Was the Lord even listening? And again, the answer is a definite “yes.”
I can smile because He gave me that verse this morning to remind me. See, He knew what the weather would do today and will do tomorrow (including whether or not we will get more snow). He knew that I worked hard on those made-from-scratch muffins AND that the children would not really appreciate them. But, as my Lord said, “Whatsoever ye do unto the least of these ye do unto me.” I can smile because as I nurture those little plants that will one day feed our family, and as I feed those many little ones He has placed in my arms with good food and His good Word, I am serving my Lord Jesus. I can not think of a greater calling than mine. I am a servant of the Most High. It is the only thing that is certain. The only thing that is true. And it is the only thing I ever want to do.
A servant of Jesus,
Kimberly Boucher