Listening to the Still, Small Voice

     After Elijah made it to Mt. Horeb, the word of the Lord came to him in a cave and asked "What are you doing here, Elijah?" 1 Kings 19:9. Elijah gave his answer, and then God displayed His power by a strong wind, an earthquake, and a fire, but God was not in these 1 Kings 19:11-12. Next, there was the sound of gentle blowing, which caused Elijah to wrap his face in his mantle and stand at the entrance to his cave. At that point, God asked Elijah the same question. It was the still, small voice that lured Elijah to the mouth of the cave.
   
     Recently, a very sweet woman at church, who had been through grievous trials, tucked a good amount of spending money into my husbands shirt pocket and said to simply "take your family to the fair and come see me (at her booth)...". She said that God told her to do it, and for her it was an act of obedience. I was so blessed to hear how she was led by the Holy Spirit, and followed through. It blesses us to hear when someone is sensitive to Gods' Spirit. Often, it does seem like He tells us to do something unusual, or out of the norm. Sometimes, it is even uncomfortable, but that is when we are stretched and grow.
   
     How could she have known that we've rarely been to that sort of thing in years? In fact, our youngest two children, ages 9 and 6, have never been to a fair before. So, a week ago, Lily and Jack finally went to a real fair, saw exotic animals, rode rides, and experienced a petting zoo. They loved the white tigers, talked about the baby chicks, fed the animals, and had a blast riding rides.  I was in tears over the whole wonderful event, despite having to stay home and finish assignments. Elias brought a friend and enjoyed hanging out that evening.

   
     This week has certainly given me pause. Pause, and reflection time, awe and a deep sense of appreciation, to a God who continues to amaze. I thank Him in prayer, for the giant, magnificent things He has done: I will never cease to praise Him for the sacrifice of Christ on the cross, and His death, burial and Resurrection. I pray that I will never get over that, and that it will never stop bewildering me--How truly wonderful and awesome He is. How great and vast, and deep and wide and lovely His love truly is. Yet He continues to bless. His loving-kindness displayed hasn't stopped. He keeps giving, even down to the smallest thing as paying for my children to go to a fair for the first time. He surprises with joy.