chocolate pudding

THY WILL BE DONE.

I am in awe of the means God uses to show us His Hand, His love, His sovereignty, His mercies, His grace. Tonight was a night that He revealed Himself in a most beautiful way to my heart. I decided to visit a woman that in MY mind was going home to be with the Lord 3 days ago. A dear family friend of ours, Mary, went unresponsive at the age of 85, and her vital organs began showing signs of her body shutting down. Thursday night, my younger brother and I went to visit her. We held her hand. We prayed over her. We read the Word. We kissed her head. We left. I was nearly certain that was the last time I would see Mary this side of heaven. I even left her room whispering, "see you soon, sweet Mary"...which in our family, taught by my dear Grandma, means "I will see you in Heaven". I called upon my prayer warrior friends and family to pray for Mary, and the prayer request I sent was this: "pray that God takes her swiftly into His Kingdom". Well, 3 days later...and here I was tonight, at her bedside - talking to her, smiling with her, praying with her, holding her hand that held mine back, giving her water, and upon Mary's request to have candy...I scurried to find anything resembling candy that she would be able to swallow... Chocolate pudding to the rescue! 3 days go by, and everything is different...and it is not the first time that 3 days have gone by, and the bystanders sit in AWE of the plans of the Lord unfolding exactly opposite of what SEEMED to be going on.  

Sitting at Mary's bedside feeding her tiny spoonfuls of chocolate pudding is something I will never forget. In those simple moments, the Creator of the world showed me anew, how He truly is in control. No matter what things seem to be, or what the path ahead looks like from our finite eyes, He reminds us, He not only knows the path, but He created the path. I bowed my head, and I asked Him for forgiveness...forgiveness for thinking I knew the path Mary's life would take, and for not praying often enough "Thy will be done". I looked down at Mary's hands and saw how swollen they were, and thought to myself that I do not think she will be present with us on earth for very long, and so I prayed some more... "Lord, you know Mary from when you knit her together in her mother's womb and you have her days numbered out; please comfort her, give her peace, joy in You, joy in the love of those around her, joy in this chocolate pudding...and Thy will be done." 

I felt so led tonight to share this little encounter with Mary, because I venture to believe I am not the only one who sometimes thinks she has the plan ahead all figured out. Whether the plan is to fail or to prevail...sometimes I think I know far more than I do, and far more than I ought. But oh, what a gracious God we have - a God who knows all things, is above all things, below all things, before all things, and behind all things...a God who can show His mighty and most merciful Hand in any situation and by any means, yes, even chocolate pudding. I pray when you are confronted with your chocolate pudding moments in this life, as I am certain we all will face many of them, that you cherish it, bow to it, and embrace it. Praise the Lord for chocolate pudding. Thy will be done.