Do you ever wonder if God is really in control of it all?
Does everything happen for His reasons?
Is life just random chances or is God lovingly in charge of it all?
God’s Goal for Us:
[Tweet “#God wants you to be so convinced of His #goodness, that nothing can shake your trust in Him.”]
When I began to KNOW God’s great goodness in my head- when I experienced His Love overshadowing my questions and fears,
I let Him take my hand and lead me to His hidden treasures.
Recently, I was reading in Luke about the Ascension of Jesus. I stumbled into a mystery as I recently read this scripture….. Luke 24:50-
d
50 Then Jesus led them to Bethany, and lifting his hands to heaven, he blessed them.
e
What?
w
Jesus led them to Bethany? Those words penetrated my heart. Now I know He was talking about the town of Bethany, but I had to wonder if there was a hidden message there for me.
A Bit of Background
Now, if you know me at all, you know I am head over heels in love with ALL of our children. They are uniquely them and I treasure them all!
a
After we had Moriah, we were convinced our little family of 6 was complete; fabulous, full, & definitely finished!
a
Our whole married life, we had asked God to plan our family; leaving the timing and number up to Him. We believe each child is a gift- a miracle- appointed to our family in God’s time. When Moriah was born, our family felt complete. After a lot of prayer and contemplation, we chose to close the door on having any more blessings added. 🙂
a
Moriah was five when she came to me and said, Mama- “God has a little sister for me. He showed me. I see her in your eyes.”
a
I laughed and said, “No, sweetheart. Mommy is too old and our family is just perfect the way it is.”
a
But I wondered.
a
Did God have another child- who belongs to us- another blessing to gift us with? Apparently so, for ten months later, in His sovereign goodness, in His perfect leading, God chose to bless us with yet another child.
[Tweet “Open your heart to the #mystery of God’s good plan for your life. #faith #trust #GodsLove”]
a
Not an accident. Not a random chance meeting of sperm and egg. Not a mistake.
And He led us to Bethany and blessed us
a
Having Bethany in our family has taken us all to a different place. It has added so much EXTRA- It has stretched our hearts, strengthened our faith, deepened our compassion, and given us a God perspective on brokenness and treasure and welcoming the “least of these”.
Is this what He is accomplishing through the gift of Bethany?
Jeff and I prayed about the names of our children! Taking our cue from the traditions of scripture- we believe names – AND perhaps, more importantly, the MEANING of that name is paramount and almost prophetic. I mean, no one would name their child Judas, right? (*The importance and significance of NAMES *another blog topic- another time 😉
a
Hind Sight is 20/20 and I clearly see the hand of God preparing us and guiding us- even down to the detail of naming Bethany- Bethany.
a
As we prayed about names, I really “wanted” a girl’s name that ended with the ah sound- Sarah- Noah- Micah- Joshua-Moriah- get the pattern? 🙂 Our little girl, Kristin, who went to live with Jesus when she was 2, didn’t fit the pattern of ah at the end, and though I’m not superstitious, I shied away from a name without “ah” at the end. 🙂
a
We looked at Hannah- Rebekah- Lydia- all fine, beautiful names. But strangely, my heart was always tugged back to the name Bethany.
a
When I first looked up the meaning of Bethany and I thought- NOPE. not gonna name one of our children a name that means
a
“House of brokenness” or “House of poverty and need”
a
The more we talked about it though, we kept going back to that name. It just seemed to be her name. We finally resolved it in our minds when we added Anne as her middle name. We’re all broken and in need of God’s grace-right? and Anne means- filled with God’s grace.
a
And so she became…..
a
Bethany Anne- “house of brokenness” “filled with God’s grace”
Is that not startling “prophetic”?
And Jesus led us to Bethany, lifted up His arms and blessed us.
The Good Shepherd leads us to His treasures. I am learning to “fear not” when I am following Him. His paths are good and His ways are perfect.
a
This is my truth: Jesus led us to Bethany- He lifted up His arms and blessed us!
[Tweet “God’s #blessings come in #unexpected packages. #specialneeds”]
a
Be encouraged dear friends- Your truth is this: God is just and His grace and mercy and goodness is for all! Jesus will lead you to places you might never choose on your own, but His when He leads you- I know He will lift up His arms and bless you!
\
Surprising Treasure: Psalm 23 Bible Gateway NLT
The Lord is my shepherd;
I have all that I need.
2 He lets me rest in green meadows;
he leads me beside peaceful streams.
3 He renews my strength.
He guides me along right paths,
bringing honor to his name.
4 Even when I walk
through the darkest valley,[a]
I will not be afraid,
for you are close beside me.
Your rod and your staff
protect and comfort me
Cindy – I so needed your special words of wisdom. Tim is still struggling so with such negative thoughts in his mind of past decisions he made and can’t seem to get past them. There is a war waged inside his mind and he’s not being drawn to the light of God’s forgiveness and grace. I know God can overcome this spirit of defeat and worthlessness that has planted itself inside his mind, but it’s almost like he feels he needs to be punished. Being positive is very hard for me, but praying for God’s strength and power. Love you, friend! Terri
awwww Terri- my sweet friend and sister in the Lord. We are in such a battle in this life. I cling to God’s good promises with you for Tim- for I know He is faithful and good- not ever wanting a band-aide fix to our spiritual pain and problems- but God is about healing us from the inside out.Praying for a watershed of God’s grace for you both. I’ll private message you more on FB- hugs
Ohhhh, Cindy, this post is stunning.
I love how He goes before us, and behind us, and hems us up–how He is the beginning and the end, and how He has inscribed us in the very palms of His hands.
I love how He is in control.
What a love story! Beautiful.
Thank you!
Sweet Julie! I love that the farther we go on this journey with Him- the more He reveals His Sovereignty wrapped up in His goodness and grace. To begin to know and experience God in our pain and loss- to experience His peace and grace in the midst of our storms… that is worth all the treasure in the world.
When bad things happened, I used to get so shaken- I thought my world was coming apart. Now I can say with you- I love how He is in control and as you said in your latest great blog- He’s Got The Whole Wide World His Hands- Really! <3
Sounds like we’re kinda discovering the same Truth at the same time! xo
Oh, Cindy, how good God is! How perfect the name, Bethany Anne, in all that means, and how perfect God’s creation, each one of us as He fills all our brokenness with His grace. What an awesome blessing that verse in Luke is for your whole household. You sure found another treasure! I love it.
God is overwhelmingly, good! That verse in Luke is like the poster child verse for what He’s been teaching me! I thought of that old Hymn- He Leadeth Me- oh blessed thought- oh words with heavenly comfort fraught 🙂 His leading is perfect. Hugs sweet sister! <3
You captured it Cindy! I agree. Stunning. So true. I am there. Bethany Anne Barclay- House of brokenness filled with God’s grace.
I have no idea why the link, here, showed up in my email inbox just now, except the Lord knew I needed to “hear” again what you’ve written. Funny, I must have read it before because I left a comment. But, this reading was brand new. Seeing the definition of Bethany Anne’s name broke open the floodgates – which I prefer to consider the joy of the Lord overflowing! Thank you, dear Cindy. I cannot put into words how much this means to me at this moment in time. You are such a dear heart!
Mysterious- 🙂 Jeff got it redelivered to his inbox too! Thanks for reading it again- and commenting again. Sometimes, I’m confounded when I’ve reread certain posts- God is so patient with me- showing me His goodness and grace- over and over in many different ways. Love you- so glad it blessed you a 2nd time! hugs