Early this morning I peeked outside to check on last evenings forecast. For a change the weather man was right. During the night we had our first predicted snowfall of the season. It also brought frigid below zero temperatures and strong gusty winds. Not a lot of the white stuff, I’d say maybe around two inches, but enough to make everything look fresh and clean.
One of the many perks of retirement is the right to crawl back into bed, pull up the comforter, whisper a prayer for my commuting family and then promptly fall back to sleep. Priceless!
I can still remember the times I rose early to listen for snow closings and if my children’s school was on the list I would sneak up the stairs, quietly enter their rooms, turn off their alarms and let them rest until whenever.
Isn’t this how our Heavenly Father cares for us as He silently watches over His flock with unending love and parental concern? It is only through reading God’s word and by experiencing the many years of fathering can I now understand the inspired definition of protection.
“But let all who take refuge in you be glad;
let them ever sing for joy.
Spread your protection over them,
that those who love your name may rejoice in you.”
Psalm 5:11
Whenever I hear the word protection I think of Jesus, the Shepard, standing with arms open, gathering the saved into His world of love, peace and joy. I look forward to the moment of His eternal promise when I will be surrounded by the everlasting grace and abundant mercy of the robed One, whom the angel called Immanuel.
“All this took place to fulfill
what the Lord had said to the prophet:
The virgin will be with child and give birth to a son,
and they will call him Immanuel – which means,
“God with us.”
Matthew 1:22-23
“God with us.” How incredibly reassuring.
Isaiah 7:14
Manna and Coffee 