Return to your home, and declare how much God has done for you.

"Return to your home, and declare how much God has done for you."

Luke 8:39 (ESV)

Hello friends! As I read through Luke and took time to pray, the Holy Spirit stopped me cold at Luke 8:39. I'm convicted of the many times I ask for the Lord's help, maybe recognize His work in my life, thank Him privately, and then move on. I don't know the last time I took a moment to "declare how much God has done" for me. So today, for any one of you who'd like to read it, I'd like to tell you about some of the things God has recently done.

At the 20-week ultrasound for our third baby, we learned she would have a club foot. God did not heal her when I prayed that He would take this away from my sweet, tiny baby, but He did give me peace that surpassed all understanding (Phil 4:7).

When we looked ahead at the uncertainties of the next year, we took stock of possible and probable financial expenses. On top of unknown medical expenses, we needed another vehicle. I prayed that the Lord would show me where the money would come from before the baby was born and that He would provide for these needs. 

About a month before my due date, the Lord blessed my husband with wisdom as he looked for another car, and He rewarded his daily hard work and our family's need with a used vehicle that did not turn out to be a lemon, lol. But in true fashion, God did more than provide something "barely passable." He provided something that fit our family's needs perfectly. Praise God for His provision!

A few weeks before baby #3 was born, a family friend shot a small deer, and he and his wife told us they wanted to gift us the meat. 

A week after that, our church let us know they'd be hosting a diapers-and-wipes drive after the baby was born as a way of welcoming a new addition to our family.

I realized, all at once, that the Lord had answered my prayer. He told me, before the baby was born, how our family would afford a new car and showed me that financial provision doesn't always come in the form of an influx of money, but sometimes in the easing of a financial burden by our community. 

God showed me how many good and faithful Christians He had placed in our community. He showed me what cheerful givers look like. He showed me the impact that all gifts can make, from an entire deer to a single package of baby wipes, and that, when it's my turn to give, I needn't worry about the size of my gift, because He can take what I have, combine it with what others have, and make it into exactly what His children need.

When we received the delivery of diapers, wipes, and food from our church, I realized I had fallen back into worrying over finances. God reminded me that He was providing. Like the Israelites, I had quickly forgotten all that He had done and needed my memory jogged. The Lord was good to do the jogging.

About a month after baby #3 was born, the hospital started refunding portions of our paid medical bill for the stay during and after birth. By the end of the refunds, we had back all but a few hundred dollars of the several thousand we had paid just a few weeks earlier. The best I can guess is that we hit an out-of-pocket max by paying the OB, but I'm uncertain. What I am sure of, though, is that God continued to provide. 

He took my prayer for provision and guidance before the baby showed up and did me one better. He showed how much He cared and continued to provide and guide after the baby was born.

Baby #3 is going through casting for her foot. Last week, when the cast came off, it looked like she might be getting a pressure wound at a quarter-sized spot by her ankle. This was what led me to Luke. Luke shows Jesus as a healer, and I needed to believe in His ability to heal and to pray for my child.

Baby #3 is going through a lot for someone so new and small. A club foot is fixable, and I know some families bear burdens much greater than ours. But to stop at "other people have it harder" means that you never continue to "God cares about the smallest things, and here's what He's done to prove that."

I prayed that, as in Luke 5: 12-14 where Jesus heals a man with leprosy saying, "Lord, if you will, you can make me clean," that if God willed, I knew He could heal baby #3's foot under her cast.

I prayed Luke 5: 17-26, where Jesus heals the paralytic lowered through the roof by his friends. I prayed that God would allow my faith and the faith of our family and friends offering prayers on behalf of baby #3 to change her trajectory. I prayed that we would be able to say, "We have seen extraordinary things today."

I prayed Luke 6:19, that if Jesus had the power to cure a multitude, that I knew He had enough power to cure just one of His children.

I prayed Luke 7: 1-10, where Jesus heals the centurion's servant. The centurion said, "Lord, do not trouble yourself, for I am not worthy to have you come under my roof. Therefore, I did not presume to come to you. But say the word, and let my servant be healed," and the servant was healed from afar because of the centurion's sightless faith. I prayed that God would say the word, and my baby would be healed from afar by the plea accompanied by sightless faith.

I prayed Luke 8: 43-48, where a woman who had been bleeding for years touched the hem of Jesus's cloak in a crowd and received healing. I asked the Lord to send the tiniest bit of power our way, knowing that it would only take a minute fraction of what He has within Him. I praised God for the constant presence of "His cloak" in my life through the words in my Bible, and knew I could touch His hem if I stayed with scripture and continued to believe and pray.

I did my best to have the kind of faith seen in the early pages of Luke, and I prayed.

And today, baby #3's quarter-sized spot is completely gone. 

God did that.

I pray that these moments from my life recently, these testimonies, will encourage you to deeper faith and belief in the power of prayer. I pray that you will see God's provision in your life, even if everything isn't perfect. 

Praise God for who He is, and thank God for how He loves us.

All the love,

Emily

P.S. Feel free to contact me at admin@tulipsandbasil.com!