Been reading the One Year Bible again this year. Every time I get to this place of reading, I am reminded of the day the phone rang and on the other end was my very good friend, Ann Pyle. Ann went home to Heaven much too early I thought, but Father had His plan and not mine for her. You see, this beautiful lady was very special to all; she was a natural encourager so we enjoyed her presence as she walked out her life here on this earth. Ann was a Pastor’s wife who would tell you like it is, you never had to guess what she was thinking she would just tell you and most of the time she would be right on with what was going on in your life.
The day I got the call was a day I was at my lowest. My husband, Phil had resigned as Pastor of a church that I loved very much. We had spent 8 years building it and developing friendships but he was just totally “burned out” and could not go another day. Little did I know, “it” had become “my life”. It had become my Identity, where I got all my needs met, you could say. Looking back it had become “my god”. God could have become jealous of that, because He wanted to meet all my needs and I was living as if He wasn’t enough. That place made me feel good about myself, they loved me and the more I did for them the more they loved me. The day after Phil resigned I felt like my life support system had been unplugged and I had no direction for “MY LIFE”, and honestly I didn’t. At the time, it was devastating, but now 24 years later it was the best thing that could have happened to get my attention, developing the plan for my future. Certainly one of those Rom 8:28 kinds of things!
Back to the divine phone call, sitting there that day in a deep state of depression, it was truly a God Thing! Ann said, “I don’t want you to say anything, just listen Father wants this Word in you.” I did listen and until this day it is there and I can not tell you how many times I have called someone and said the same thing then reading this Scripture, doing just what Ann was moved to do for me that day.
In fact, I feel Ann would want us to be reminded of this awesome promise here today. To sooth our hearts, to come into a state of rest, trusting Him for whatever is in our path ……
Hush! Don’t say anything just listen, imagine with me hearing Ann’s voice reading……
Psalm 121
1 I look up to the mountains—
does my help come from there?
2 My help comes from the Lord,
who made heaven and earth!
3 He will not let you stumble;
the one who watches over you will not slumber.
4 Indeed, he who watches over Israel
never slumbers or sleeps.
5 The Lord himself watches over you!
The Lord stands beside you as your protective shade.
6 The sun will not harm you by day,
nor the moon at night.
7 The Lord keeps you from all harm
and watches over your life.
8 The Lord keeps watch over you as you come and go,
both now and forever.
Oh Mary! Thank you for the reminder of such sweet words from such a dear lady! She had wisdom in so many areas and always just the right words at the right times! Now I understand that could only come from her having such a close relationship with God, that she was always listening for His voice. I'm still grateful that dear friends like you share with us how special our Mother was in your life and in so many others!
ReplyDeleteThank you for that rich blessing! I do miss her so, but I know her life was well lived, to still be a blessing!~ Katherine Pyle Edwards
Thank you Thank you for posting this. God gave us two ears and one mouth showing us we need to do more listening and less talking especially when he is trying to teach/show us something to help us in our daily walk with him. Keep me in prayer as i am struggling to learn the bible scriptures and stories. I have a hard time retaining what i just read and I want to help others who are looking for answers to life's questions.
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