This week I’m participating in a Week of Prayer and Fasting at Suburban Church. Suburban joins other area churches that select a week in the month of January to pray and fast before the Lord. This year Suburban’s theme is “Looking to Jesus”. For this week I will share devotional thoughts gleaned from the scripture passages and prayer times our Elders and other prayer leaders will share.

READ: Romans 8:28-30

Today we had no together morning or evening prayer time. I both missed being with other believers to pray and so enjoyed being back in my quiet corner to meet the Lord on my own. Today’s devotional thought was provided by Clint Zlatnik and focused on the sovereignty of God. Clint chose Romans 8:28 as the focus thought for this characteristic of God. “And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love him, who have been called according to his purpose.”

It was a good thought to begin this day. For several weeks now I’ve looked forward to this weekend because I knew that my daughter Kristin and my granddaughter Helen were coming to Corvallis. One of Helen’s Christmas presents was getting to come to an Oregon State University Women’s Gymnastics meet and today is the day! Unfortunately last Thursday evening Helen began running a fever of just over 102^◦. We all waited and hoped that it would be a brief blip that would still allow them to come on Friday. Friday came and went with no improvement, so we held our breaths for Saturday. But, alas, today brought Saturday and Helen is still miserable and still running a fever. This trip was simply not to be. It seems even more mournful when we remember that Helen had perfect attendance at school last year and was never ill enough to miss anything! But this year, this particular weekend, so eagerly longed for and planned for, Helen is sick. Bummer!

  Disappointed Helen

This is a small thing in both the eternal scheme of things and in light of the major life disappointments I’ve faced in the past and that sweet, young Helen is likely to face in the future. My prayer for Helen today is that somehow through this small thing she is learning resilience and maybe even how to make a lemon into lemonade! I hope that as she faces her day and her disappointment just a bit more of the image of Jesus is formed in her. My prayer is that God will comfort her and show her himself in this disappointing day.

Lord, thank You for this small thing that I’m guessing feels big in Helen’s life. Thank You for parents who love Helen and will help her overcome disappointment. Thank You for being the God whose love purposes salvation in Christ for all who believe and then the beauty of being conformed to the image of Christ. May these things be first in Helen’s life; may this truth be the source of life even in disappointment! Thank You Lord!