Christian Devotionals and Scripture Applied to Everyday Life

Have you ever prayed long and hard for something and not seen what you consider an answer? Maybe you are praying about a decision that you need to make, a loved one who needs to come to Jesus, or a relationship that has gone bad. When praying for difficult things we look and look for God's answer. When it seems that nothing tangible has changed in our situation it is easy to start thinking that God hasn't heard us, doesn't care, or maybe we are just asking for the wrong thing. It is tempting to give up and only pray for "easy" things. This is not what God wants from us.

For the past week I have enjoyed watching a mother robin attending a nest of baby birds. On Monday I locked myself out of our office and had to go around to the back door to get in. When I turned the corner I heard loud persistent chirping and saw the male and female flying around and around in panic. That is when I saw the nest. They had built it on top of the electric meter by the back door. I stood on tiptoe to peek inside and the little featherless bodies were hardly moving. I could tell they had just been hatched by the egg shell remnants and the way they lay there exhausted from their entrance into the world.

I looked around while we stood waiting in the big post office for our 10 o'clock appointment. We were alone except for the bald eagle that scrutinized us from the poster on the wall as if to determine our acceptability as US citizens. My thoughts were interrupted by a pleasant woman who appeared from behind the screen at the back of the desk. She directed us to a door where we entered a tight room and sat at a large table to wait some more. Soon she reappeared and we handed over the packet of information needed to apply for our passports. We had carefully gone over the list of essential items - original birth certificates, driver's licenses, applications, and, of course, the checkbook.

It is beautifully warm day with a delicious breeze blowing the tree branches by my window. I am sitting in my chair reflecting on a busy day. We had an auction and because of the nice weather a number of people left early to enjoy the sunshine and work in their yards. I was surprised, though, that a number of buyers left to go mushroom hunting. I was told that today was probably the last day to find these honeycomb-like capped morels, and they were anxious to see what they could find. Though I have never hunted for these myself, I have tasted the delicious flavor when they are breaded and fried.

Evil flourishes under the cover of darkness. This is because people believe the darkness will hide their sins from the public eye. But those who do right have no reason to hide. They can live in broad daylight with no fear.

No one likes to be accused of things. It leaves a sinking feeling in your stomach when you start wondering if your acquaintances, friends, and those you love will change their opinion of you because of the accusation. Sometimes you may even be accused of things that are not true and that is very disheartening. How will people know the truth? This is especially difficult living in a small town. There often seems to be nowhere to escape the gossip and stories that can spread like wildfire when everybody knows everybody. My grandmother used to say, "You can't stop people from speaking falsehoods about you, but you can live in a way so that no one will believe them." And yet it is very hard to feel confident while wondering what everyone is thinking.