When You Fall into a Mud Puddle....

I read a story this past weekend of a wonderful Christian woman. And even as she lay in bed in a nursing home, dying of cancer, she still was still full of encouragement & delighted everyone with stories of her life & God's goodness.

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Like most people her age, her life had been full of joys & sorrows. She'd grown up without much & struggled financially through many years in her marriage. And though these years were difficult, she spoke on & on of her never ending love for her husband, their happy marriage & the joy they shared in their children.

"Be at rest once more, O my soul, for the Lord has been good to you."

Psalm 116:7 (NIV) 

This lady experienced big heartbreaks in her life. Her 80 year old mother was raped in her own yard. And later in a nursing home, her mother was physically abused by a staff member. Grief struck again when her granddaughter & great-grandson were killed in a car accident one icy night.

But through all this & more, this wonderful lady clung to Jesus. She was quoted as saying "In all that we've been through, we knew that our strength comes from the Lord. Whenever we fell in a mud puddle, we just jumped right out & into His arms."

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"I will lift up the cup of salvation & call on the name of the Lord."

Psalm 116:13

Jumping out of a mud puddle & into Jesus' arms is the type of childlike excitement & trust that can bring us all through our lives. How do you respond when you've "fallen in a mud puddle"? Do you just sit there & let the wet mud soak into your clothes..... or do you jump out into Jesus' arms of safety & peace? Remember, how you react is a reflection of Jesus in your life to those around you.

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"Praise the Lord, O my soul; all my inmost being, praise His holy name....who redeems your life from the pit & crowns you with love & compassion."

Psalm 103:1,4 (NIV)