God's Open-Door Policy...

“[Asking, seeking, knocking] “Ask, and you will receive. Search, and you will find. Knock, and the door will be opened to you. For everyone who asks, receives. Whoever seeks, finds. And to everyone who knocks, the door is opened.” Matthew 7:7-8 CEB

Have you ever misplaced your keys, or some important paperwork you needed? I seem to misplace 
things all the time, and boy, is it frustrating!

I begin by turning every place they should be upside-down, then checking all the places they might be, then checking in the more unlikely places. What really frustrates me is when I know I've only been to 2 or 3 places in the house and my keys HAVE TO be there somewhere, but they're not visible.

I've learned a secret though. Before I start to panic because I can't find an item, I pray. God is supposed to know my every move, yes, every hair on my head. Surely he must know where I put those pesky keys.

Perhaps it's the act of slowing down or stopping the mad dash to find the keys that helps me remember where I left them. Added to it is the fact that God really does know where they are and he cares about me. But I must say that prayer has never failed. I always find what I'm looking for - eventually. I have my keys today as proof. LOL!

The thing is that God has an open-door policy. We can always come to him and ask anything and he will answer. When we are searching for something, he will lead us to the answer. But it requires us to do some things.

• We must ask. Nothing is too small or silly to ask God. Nothing is too big or impossible for him to accomplish. The only thing limited is our own mind or our willingness to ask.
• What we seek must be important to us so that we will keep on looking until we find the answer. Persistence pays off.
• We must get past the idea of being a "bother" to God. I don't like to knock on people's doors after 9 PM at night or before 9 AM in the morning - eve if it's important - because I might "bother" them. I'm the same way with phone calls. But God says "Don't hesitate to knock." He's always at home, always willing to receive us and listen to /answer our cries for help.

If it's important to us, it's important to God.

Thank you Lord, for having an "open-door" policy.

Comfort food

Back in October, the pumpkins were everywhere: the big ones for carving and cooking, the little sweet pie pumpkins, and even my favorites - the long-necked squash pumpkins. I was ecstatic when I found some of my favorite kind right across the street at the stand of a roadside vendor. I bought one at the time, but they were a little pricy for the quantity I wanted.

When I got home, I asked the Lord to provide a couple more pumpkins of any kind for canning since my food budget was a little limited. Nothing happened at that point. Pumpkin season passed and I pretty much forgot I'd even asked my Father for them. But God never forgot.

This past week, my father-in-law passed away. The family had already made plans to come home for the day - partly because we wanted to get together like we did each year and partly hoping they could see dad alive one more time to say their last good-byes. But that's not the way it worked out.

After we got the news of his passing on Wednesday morning, I had an especially difficult time getting things ready for our big family dinner. Thankfully, my children were bringing much of the food because I couldn't focus on cooking. I think God knew I needed a special reminder of his love and care to help me through the holiday family time.

Thursday morning, my daughter and her brood arrived. As they got out of their van, six-year-old Sam struggled over to the porch carrying a large, orange pumpkin. Ten-year-old Jack brought another. Sam proudly proclaimed that his mommy couldn't possibly cook all her pumpkins - she had one for each of her 7 children - so she sent me the two biggest ones to can.

I remembered asking my heavenly Father for some nice big pumpkins to can and suddenly felt hugged by God. At a time when I needed to know his presence and comfort the most, he sent me a tangible reminder that he cares about me and the details of my life.

Thank you Father! Amen.

“Enter his gates with thanks; enter his courtyards with praise! Thank him! Bless his name! Because the LORD is good, his loyal love lasts forever; his faithfulness lasts generation after generation.” Psalm 100:4-5 CEB