Sunday Afternoon Tea

Yet who knows whether you have come to the kingdom for such a time as this?
Esther 4:14

Or, should I call this... Sunday Evening Tea? I've had these ponderings going through my head now for a few days but sitting down and putting them onto a keyboard has been less than promising. Both my mind and body have been telling me they have been through a lot lately and all they wanted to do was stay on the sofa and watch Persuasion. :)

It was this process... healing on the sofa while watching TV... that started the pondering in the first place. I was watching Fox Business Channel one afternoon, actually it was more like listening to the channel. This was when breathing still hurt. Experts were discussing the Bear Sterns bailout as well as the possible mega bailout of the two mortgage giants coming up. All were in agreement that if Bear Sterns had not been bailed out, we would have immediately started sliding into a Depression. Their only point of disagreement was the way it was handled. The same appeared to be happening with the upcoming possible bailouts. If you listened closely to a couple of the people (who happen to be my favorites on this show), there was a touch of fear and apprehension.

There was more than a little apprehension on my part, too. About that same time, I had received an e-mail with a link to a speech Kay Arthur gave... not exactly given to wild prophetic speculations. I felt we were soon going from seeing a Storm Watch sign on the television set of our lives to... Storm Warning. I was once again eleven years old and hearing "danger, danger, Will Robinson"... only this wasn't a corny TV show... it was the Voice of the Holy Spirit speaking to my soul.

My first reaction right then was one of shoving my face further into the pillow and whining to God that I was no longer the fighter I had once been... the one whom it was said she goes where angels fear to tread. No more, I'm now a middle aged diabetic with poor circulation, eyesight, fatigue, and to top it all off... I'm now sick, nauseous, and in pain from this whole "tooth abscess thing". There's a reason the Army doesn't send Grandmothers into battle.

Well, having walked with Him long enough now, I should have known that God does send Grandmothers into battle and his favorite soldiers are those who are so weak that the only way they can get up and march is with His Strength. :) As I lay there feeling like I was perishing any moment, two verses came to my mind. The first verse from Acts, where it is stated that He knows the times and places where He will have us live (I can't think of the exact place right now).

The second verse... that which is written above... He has brought us into His Kingdom for such a time as this. Where we are, where we live, our circumstances in life, those we influence... are each so unique that only each of us individually can affect where we have been placed in time and space.

We have no need to fear tomorrow. Oh, we'll do our best as He guides us each day. We will deepen our pantry as much as individually possible. We will declutter our homes and our lives and provide places of sanctuary for our family and friends. We have each been uniquely gifted to create an environment of beauty and peace so when we... our family... our friends... cross the threshold of our home... they will walk from the storms of the outside world into a place of comfort and hope.

As we begin to see the storms arrive, we will be prepared. We will spend time with Him each day gathering strength. We will do the best we can to deepen our pantry (some of us may need to pray in extra but we will accomplish this!). We will seek advice and listen with discernment and when fear begins to trump faith... we run to Him who works best in those who are weakest.

For those who are already weak from the battle, He will give renewed strength. As for the strong, He has you at the front of the line for your courage will uphold those who are weakest.

He brought us into the Kingdom for such a time as this and He will provide everything we need.