Nothing Can Stop The Promises of God!

Genesis 15:5 He took him outside and said, Look up at the sky and count the stars if indeed you can count them. Then he said to him, So shall your offspring be. This is the time of year, when I review past experiences, including my mistakes, trials, and challenges; all of the moments in which I could not see a way out, and times of fearfulness because I had no idea, like a boat tossed by dark massive waves, where I would wash ashore. During a period of learning, I threw out everything Christmas that I owned because I had discovered, or so I thought, the origin of Christmas trees, lights, and presents. I remember one sleepless night around 3:00 a.m., when I turned on the television and listened to Barry Setterfield, an astrophysicist, explain the whats, whys, and hows of why we celebrate the birth of Christ in December. Pretty cool huh? I try to throw out Christmas and God just happens to have a lesson for me about Christmas. Mr. Setterfield gave an account of the one miraculous event in history, in which the entire universe acted in concert to fulfill the prophecy of God. This to me is beyond fathomable. I just cant wrap my mind around it. To me, it visually explained what Christ meant when He prayed to the Father asking that all believers be of one mind. Imagine the possibilities, if all believers merged together as one, just as the universe did to fulfill Gods promise. I doubt there would be denominations or opinions, but only the mind of Jesus. I dont understand astrophysics, but I do understand my experiences with God. They have substantially increased my faith. I believe wholeheartedly that God will keep all of His promises, and in His own time, He will bring them to fruition. I remember with vivid sensation, when God put His arm around me and said, Dont worry. I have so much for you, that even if I made it crystal clear in a tangible way, you still wouldnt fully comprehend it. He tells all of us the same thing about eternity. While we can use our meager imaginations to play it out and draw pictures, we dont have an inkling of what God has in store for us. Its so exciting! Its better than a child on Christmas morning, chomping at the bit to wake everyone up so he can see what Santa left. We really never believed in Santa in our house, because one of my brothers was an insomniac on Christmas Eve. He once caught my parents setting out all of the presents. Quite frankly, we didnt care who set them out so long as we could have them! In any event, what once was a Christmas tree has now become a Blessing tree. Everywhere my husband and I travel; we make it a point to find an ornament and a refrigerator magnet to memorialize our journey. The magnets are kept in plain view on the refrigerator, so that we are reminded every day of the wonderful blessings of God. Every year, when we decorate our Blessing tree, we are reminded of the most wonderful memories of the places God has shown us, from our amazing views at the top of the mountains all the way to the despairing seemingly endless careening to the valley floors, and how the path on which God has set us has matured our faith. We step out in faith and let the mountains show us where we are going and the valleys mold our characters more and more to that of Christ. God handles our moments, days, and years. A little over 15 years ago, I had said a very specific prayer to God. My husband had abandoned me and as a result, I had lost everything. My prayer to God, covered with tears and anguish went something like this, Lord, I dont want to

be alone for the rest of my life and I dont want You to wait until Im too old to marry again. I want to be able to enjoy the intimacy of marriage. Ive wasted so much of my life, not asking You what choices I should make; and now Im afraid I have ruined everything. Lord, I want a husband who will love me and my son to overflowing. I promise to love whomever you give me just the same. I want to travel the world and see all that You have created. I want to never have to worry about money again. I want to spend more time with you. Lord, I know that I cant have more children, because Ive made it so, and besides, Im not married; but even so, I wish I would have more children. Im so sorry Lord for taking your miracle of life for granted. I just couldnt see the possibilities before, but I can now and I have great sorrow because of my decisions. Well . . . something like that. That was so many years ago; lots of time spent in the valleys. Frankly, I had forgotten about that prayer and never really expected it to be answered. But now . . . every time, I look at my husband and we visit with our children and grandchildren, I know there is absolutely nothing that can stop the promises of God. My husband takes me all over the world, with ferocity he loves me and my son; and he takes very good care of me. When God told Abraham to go outside and look to the heavens, Abraham had no idea to what extent God was revealing His plan, nor the blessings that would flow from that one promise; which by the way includes the salvation of the entire world. Abraham never got to see his offspring in numbers greater than the stars in the sky; but crazily enough, Gods promise not only remains to this day, but continues indefinitely. When clearly God had restored my life, I related it to the story of Naomi in the book of Ruth. I used some of that scripture during my wedding ceremony: Ruth 4:14-16 14) Then the women of the town said to Naomi, Praise the Lord, who has now provided a redeemer for your family! May this child be famous inIsrael! 15) May he restore your youth and care for you in your old age. For he is the son of your daughter-in-law who loves you and has been better to you than seven sons! 16) Naomi took the baby and cuddled him to her breast. And she cared for him as if he were her own. I have an idea at the amazement that Naomi must have felt. To experience a moment when her past experiences and doubts suddenly sprang up in her memory to be immediately crushed by Gods Spirit; the smile that must have covered her face! God gave me an amazing young man as a son, full of promise. And for my sorrows and longings for more children, God gave me two wonderful step daughters, a son-in-law, and two grandchildren. Just like Naomi, I love them as if I gave birth to them myself. God has restored my life and His promises continue indefinitely. Psalm 71:20 You have allowed me to suffer much hardship, but you will restore me to life again and lift me up from the depths of the earth. Nothing can stop the promises of God.