Wednesday, May 3, 2017

My times are in Your hand...


When I was conceived and formed in my mother's womb, Lord,
my times were in Your hand.

When I was born to my father and my mother, the sixth child in a family of seven children,
my times were in Your hand.

When I was nine years old and had to visit my mama in the state mental hospital, 
my times were in Your hand.

When Daddy sat us kids down and told us he was leaving Mama,
my times were in Your hand.

When You gave Mama the strength to get out there and get a good job and take good care of us,
my times were in Your hand.

When Mama took us to a little brown church that was instrumental in loving us back into wholeness,
my times were in Your hand.

When I was a naive teenager with no parental dating boundaries, You protected me.
My times were in Your hand.

When a young woman from church mailed me a life-changing note about God's plan and purpose for me,
my times were in Your hand.

When scholarships and grants and money I'd saved paid for my first year of college with $50 to spare,
my times were in Your hand.

When two young lovers who had no idea the challenges life would bring got married,
my times were in Your hand.

When this young wife and mama cried out to you, "God help me!  I don't know how to be a good wife and mother",
my times were in Your hand.

When we pastored little churches and barely got paid, You always provided.
My times were in Your hand.

When parenting challenges arose, when wisdom was needed, when I begged you to help us not screw up these three beautiful daughters You had blessed us with,
my times were in Your hand.

When one by one they left the nest, went off to college, got married, when we didn't know how we'd pay for any of it,
my times were in Your hand.

When I saw them suffer hope deferred, infertility, miscarriage, dreams dashed, 
my times, (and their times), were in Your hand.

When I saw, one by one, You give them the desires of their hearts in Your perfect way and timing,
my times, (and their times), were in Your hand.

When the grandbabies came, whether by adoption or by birth, and the enormity of grandparent love overwhelmed me,
my times were in Your hand.

When you opened doors of opportunity beyond my expectation and closed other doors, even when I didn't understand what You were up to,
my times were in Your hand.

Through four decades of marriage highs and lows and in-betweens, and ministry highs and lows and in-betweens, and family, and financial, and health, and relational highs and lows and in-betweens,
my times were in Your hand.

And now, in a few short months I will be sixty years old, and sometimes the thought of growing old and the unknown of it all scares me.  So, I remind myself of this constant, unchangeable truth,
my times are in Your hand. 

Always and forever.

still following, 
  


Darling Downs Diaries

USE this for BLOG

Woman to Woman Ministries


Seeking God

Missional Women





Holly Barrett

also linking up at:
Inspire Me Monday


25 comments:

  1. Lovely poem packed with truth! Thank you!

    ReplyDelete
  2. Love this reminder of God's faithfulness and protection!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. I hope you see my reply! I've been trying to reach you to let you know that you were the winner of the "my favorite cup" watercolor. Click on the envelope symbol on the sidebar of my blog and let me know if you want one I've already done or want me to use your favorite cup.

      Delete
  3. Elizabeth,
    I loved reading this because you give God the glory and I got to know you better :-) May God continue to guide and bless you and yours <3

    ReplyDelete
  4. Beautiful. What a great way to honor God and remind all who read this, our times are in His hand.

    ReplyDelete
  5. It's beautiful poem. Thank you for sharing.

    ReplyDelete
  6. Amen! It's good to look back on His faithfulness, isn't it, Elizabeth? Peace for today and hope for the future!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Yes! The Bible tells us to remember God's goodness and faithfulness and to talk about it to the future generations.

      Delete
  7. Elizabeth - such a great post, like a prose or poem almost. Yes, our times are in His hands - thank you Jesus. As I was reading through, we have some similar things in our lives. and can I just say - you do not look anywhere near 60! Wow, God has graced you with youth! Blessings and Thank you so much for linking up with #TuneInThursday today!

    ReplyDelete
  8. Wow! Yes, Lord, me too, my times are in your hands! May the Lord keep you fresh and green, Elizabeth, bearing fruit for His kingdom for many more years to come in Jesus' name.

    ReplyDelete
  9. Hi again Elizabeth! Would have really loved to pin this to a couple of poetry boards but didn't see a pin button. Do consider adding such a share button. I did tweet, though. You are blessed! #SittingAmingFriends

    ReplyDelete
  10. I love reading about God's faithfulness to you through the years!

    ReplyDelete
  11. So beautiful and poignant. I can totally relate to this post. I'm only a couple of years behind you. Thank you for writing such a thoughtful, honest post. I'm so glad we have the comfort of knowing He is in control.

    ReplyDelete
  12. God's faithfulness so beautifully said! Thank you for inspiring me with your words. I so look forward to your posts because many times they are right what I need to hear as well. I am right behind you on the 60 and I appreciate hearing from you! Always encouraging!!

    ReplyDelete

The best thing about blogging is hearing from you!
I'd love for you to leave a comment! Click subscribe by email if you want me to be able to reply to you.