Windows…

Fresh Manna
by Pastor Tim Burt

My wife wrote this two weeks ago and I wanted to share it with you! I hope you enjoy it! Pastor Tim

A week ago, my daughter, son-in-law and two granddaughters finished packing up the house they’d lived in for the past five years. They had heard a call in their heart to become missionaries in Peru, and the time had finally arrived for them to leave. I wish I could tell you that I was this noble, self-sacrificing mom, who only thought about all the good that they would be able to do on the mission field. Frankly, I asked God, with all due respect, if He could pick someone else’s children to send…you know, kids who had a mom who would blog about how honored and thrilled she was that her kids were chosen to follow such a beautiful path in life.

It wasn’t that I wasn’t proud of them…I was. And it wasn’t that I wasn’t supportive of them…I was. I just loved having them live next door…for a lot of reasons. One reason being this. Each morning, when I’d head into the kitchen to turn on the coffee maker, I’d glance through my kitchen window, which happened to face one of their bedroom windows. And on some of those mornings, I would see the adorable faces of one of my granddaughters peering out that window!

Well, the first morning after they had left, I was once again at the kitchen sink…looking into that very empty window. My heart sank, and tears rolled down my face. I considered closing the shade, so I wouldn’t have to ever look into that empty window again. But I didn’t…and one day this week it happened. I didn’t feel the same sadness…because God gently spoke to my heart what He speaks to each of us when there’s an empty place in our life. That He already knew what would be emptied…and He already had a plan…a wonderful plan to fill it with something good! It wasn’t that it would replace what had already been there…it would just re-fill that empty place with more of His goodness …goodness on top of goodness! So now when I see that window? It’s a loving reminder that even though I can’t see it yet, something good is on the way…for me…and for you too!

Jeremiah 29:11 MSG ~ I know what I’m doing. I have it all planned out—plans to take care of you, not abandon you, plans to give you the future you hope for.

More Devotions by Renee Burt

In His Love,
Pastor Tim Burt