Wednesday, December 3, 2014

What if...


The school bus had stopped right there just a short time before.
The neighbor lady had just driven past on her way home from work.
In an unusual turn of events for our busy, crowded neighborhood, 
no children were walking down the side walk or riding bicycles or skateboards down the street, 
 no cars were parked by the curb where it fell.
I was upstairs in my bedroom getting ready to go to my daughter's house.
If the neighbor's tree had fallen towards my house instead of towards the street,
it would have come right through my bedroom.
When I heard the wood split and felt the shudder as the tree hit the ground, 
a million what ifs ran through my mind.

We live in a neighborhood filled with old growth trees.
Every time we have a windstorm I pray protection over us, our property and my neighbors.
Yesterday, when the neighbor's tree cracked and the top third came crashing down,
God's hand guided the whole turn of events.
It fell diagonally across the street, missing every home, car, person, and even the mail boxes.
Praise be to God!

I have had a few other what if moments in my life.
There was the time I was in a car full of ladies returning from a retreat.
The weather was very icy and we were in a multi-car accident on a major highway.
When the crashing and slipping and sliding all stopped, 
our car was partially tucked under the trailer of a semi truck, unscathed.
There was the time, when we lived in the little white parsonage next to the church, 
on the highway up to Mt. Hood.
 I was in the corner of our bedroom praying when a car left the highway, 
crashed through our mailboxes, 
and hit the corner of the house right where I was praying.
However, some cement that circled our irrigation pipe took the brunt of the car's impact 
so it didn't penetrate through the inner wall of the house.
What if?

In this life that seems so fragile and fleeting,
we can become tormented with what ifs.
Instead, we hold the trump card.
We serve the One Who is greater than all of the what ifs;
we serve the great I AM!
He holds His children in the palm of His great hand.
He is our Shield,
our Refuge,
our Protector.
We can trust Him with confidence that our times are in His hands.
The what ifs must bow to the One Who was, Who is, Who is to come,
the One Who holds the calendar with our appointed times and seasons.
I will not yield to fear of the what ifs of life.
I chose to trust in the One Who is Lord of every what if I have faced in the past or will ever face in the future.


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25 comments:

  1. I love this encouraging post! Thank you so much for sharing it. I think as parents especially, we do a lot of "what if" thinking. I know that I do. I do it about their futures and ours, as well. It is such a fruitless activity, pondering the what ifs in life. Most of them never come to pass. And if they should, well, like you said, we serve the great I AM. We couldn't be in better hands and we truly need not worry. Thanks so much for that reminder today! ~Heather @ My Overflowing Cup

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    1. Thanks so much Heather for coming by and for your kind comment!

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  2. Elizabeth,
    Wow...So glad nobody and nothing was hurt...and you're right..to not live by the fear of "What ifs"....encouraging to read how God has cared for you, my friend :)

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    1. I'm thankful for God's protection, too, Dolly!

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  3. Elizabeth, I am praising our faithful, all-knowing God with you for His protection and His perfect aim for that falling tree. I have sure had some miraculous "what ifs" that are beyond explanation except His intervention. Thank you for again for reminding us of Who is in control.

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    1. Elizabeth, I am so thankful for God's protection over us!

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  4. Thanks so much for sharing this! I had a pastor once who used to remind us that we were invincible until God was ready to take us home to Him. That has given much comfort in my own "what if" moments. He is completely trustworthy!

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    1. Ginger, God is completely trustworthy! Oh, how I lean on that fact!

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  5. What a great post! So thankful no one was hurt by the falling tree. How I hope I can always just trust in God and not give in to the worry that can overtake our lives. I see it in my little girl who's at that age where she's becoming afraid of all the unseen and unknowns. I hope I can show here there's a better way to face those fears by putting our trust in God.

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    1. Kathryn, not giving in to worry and fear is something we have to be vigilant about, isn't it? You're a good mama to teach your little one that God is trustworthy.

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  6. Praising God with you that no one or nothing was hurt. You've had many of those moments! I feel that gratitude about the kids and me with the near miss car incident. His angels are everywhere doing His bidding. So thankful no one was hurt.

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    1. I'm so thankful for God's protection over us! I'm rejoicing with you that your son and granddaughters were not hit by that car!

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  7. God is sooo good! Your post is a great reminder of how He is always in control in this world. Giving thanks & praise that He protected everyone in this situation. Not to diverse, but I had a God moment yesterday. I was driving down the road in our town, when without warning my tire went completely flat. At first, I didn't realize how truly blessed that I was in that moment. Later I started giving thanks & praise for the protection God put over me. What if I had been driving down the interstate, what if I had been in another town stranded? God is always, always good & faithful!

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    1. Krista, I'm so thankful for God's hand of protection on you! How often does God spare us from harm and we don't even realize it!

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  8. I'm so thankful that no one was hurt and no property was damaged. That was a bit too close for comfort! I've always felt it's rare when we are allowed to see how God has protected us - those 'what-if' or 'almost' moments. When He lets us see them it's amazing. There are been several big ones in my life and I know He watches over me.
    ~Adrienne~

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    1. I'm so thankful for God's hand of protection, friend.

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  9. Great post, Elizabeth. Eight years ago right about this time we had a 110 foot tree come down on our house during a windstorm. I can tell you I could see God's hand of protecton on us and our property. First of all, we weren't home and that meant our car was not in the garage.....which was totally demolished. The tree went from the garage all the way across the front of our house wiping out our front porch and then landing on the neighbors house. BUT the house itself was not damaged. Therefore, we lost no personal property. God gave us the right insurance company to handle our claim and God gave us the right contractor to call so things we fixed up perfectly and in a timely matter. Recently my mama was in a car accident and there was God again providing protection for her and the other driver. My friend came upon the accident and was able to comfort and take care of mom until I got there.....God working again. God is good! God is good all the time.!

    Debbi

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    1. Oh, how the many, many ways our Father watches over us! How thankful I am!

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  10. I am so, so grateful you are okay! It is so comforting to know that God is so powerful and that He knows all things...even the trees that needed to be guided down carefully.

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    1. I'm so grateful, too, Jen! Thank you so much for coming by!

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  11. This makes me think of the scripture that says when we testifyof God's goodness, we rehearse the wonders of God.(Psalm 75) I love to hear the testimony of others for His glory.. it builds my faith and give wings to prayer and praise!
    We had a tree fall on our road a few summers ago, and watching it fall, hearing the sound it made, and the eplosion of the wood as it landed were all like slow motion. When it finally settled, we all just stood and watched it unsure of what to do. Before long my husband and son and a few of the people in the vehicles who came upon the tree were working together to get it cleared. Like you I was amazed that that the tree hit only the pavement and not people, cars, or property.

    So thankful everyone is ok.
    Blessings,
    Dawn

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    1. Dawn, how many times does God protect us from harm and we don't even notice it, or don't even know how close we were to danger?

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  12. This is great Elizabeth, you are right there are so many "what ifs" in life that we need to just trust in God instead of worrying. Thanks for sharing at Good Morning Mondays. Blessings

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  13. Wow, that's a pretty remarkable tree-fall. It missed everything! Praise God!

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  14. Yes, my God is bigger than the what-ifs. Glad everyone is OK!

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