Have you ever felt like you had no one to turn to? Maybe you were having a bad day and all you wanted to do was call a friend, tell them what had been going on, and get encouragement from them, but you didn’t know who to call. Today, that happened to me.
Holding the fort is a very challenging job! I have never had to look after my house before, so when my parents told me they were going to Canada for six days and were leaving me to care for the house AND my grandparents, I was a quite nervous. I didn’t know what to expect, so every night, before my parents left, I prayed that God would give the strength and patience I would need to get through it.
Miraculously, the week went by really quickly, and because God answered my prayers, I was strong the whole way through. I know for a fact, that if I had to do this two months ago, I couldn’t have. I would’ve been calling my parents everyday begging them to come home, and I would’ve been tearing my hair out with all the running around I had to do everyday. One day, I walked over six miles, but I didn’t get tired. God is awesome, He deserves all the praise for this life achievement!
There were a couple of times, I’m not going to lie, where I got a bit overwhelmed because my grandparents were not able to help me do certain tasks since their knee and foot kept playing up. In those times, however, I would stop and pray that the patience and strength I needed to complete the tasks would come. Every time I prayed for this, God provided for me, and even gave me the passion to do more than necessary to make my grandparents feel at ease and comfortable.
Earlier today, though, I got a bit discouraged. Seeing my papa in pain and almost cry because he couldn’t do something himself, or he broke something, was heartbreaking. I wanted to do something to make him feel better, but I didn’t know what. So, instead of letting him get depressed about what he couldn’t do, I took him and my nana to the lakes so they could have some fresh air and enjoy the lovely view, while I walked my dog Joey.
As I walked, I was still feeling discouraged and wanted to talk to someone who could encourage me and take my mind off of my papa’s pain, but I didn’t know who to call. I didn’t want to disturb Jackson, and I couldn’t think of anyone else, so I called Nathan. In my mind, I thought he would tell me that it was going to be ok, and that I’d get through it, but he didn’t. It was interesting to see what his thoughts were on the current situation, even if they weren’t accurate.
In the end, I told Nathan that I had to go, because my grandparents were wondering where I was, and because the conversation had turned to tv shows. Two months ago, I gave up on all the tv shows I used to watch, because I realised that they were a big distraction and were not edifying. Nathan has not understood this yet, so he still tells me that I should watch at least one of the shows, which I won’t as I have no interest in them anymore.
If I get discouraged again, I now know that I need to turn to God and a believer friend, because when the discouragement comes my way, talking about shows or other worldly things does not build me up. The devil tries to get into your life any way he can. I know that he tried to get a hold of me today with temptation, sorrow, disrespect, discouragement, and impatience, but in the end I turned to God and pushed the devil’s attempts aside.
As this week comes to an end, I feel like I have matured even more, and moved onto another square on my “life board”. Taking care of the house and my grandparents was an honor and pleasure, because it showed that my parents trust me, and that God has His hand on me. Without Him guiding me through the week, I couldn’t have achieved what I did.
I want this week to stay in my memory forever, because I learned a very important life lesson: if you are dependent on God, He will provide! This is the way I want to live my life, following Him every step of the way, and getting over any obstacles the devil might throw my way.
Psalm 86:12, “I will praise you, Lord my God, with all my heart; I will glorify your name forever.”