Spring 2024 has come upon us in Broken Arrow, OK

Friday, August 2, 2019

Eleven


Did you know…

That the First World War ended on the Eleventh hour, on the Eleventh day of the Eleventh month?  That there are Eleven players on an American football team, on a soccer team, on a cricket team as well as on a field hockey team?  That Veteran’s Day which honors military veterans’ in the United States is on November Eleventhas is our oldest daughter’s birthday…

And the list goes on and on!  We recently celebrated the 50th Anniversary of the first man to set foot on the moon with the Apollo 11 spaceflight’s lunar landing.  It’s also interesting to note that the deepest known point of the ocean is Callenger Deep, Marina Trench located in the Pacific Ocean at a depth of 11km, that sodium has a atomic number of Eleven and that New York became the Eleventh state in the Union on July 26,1788… and so on and so forth!  I’m sure that all this trivia information will come in handy at some insignificant time in your life! *

Today marks Eleven months since my sweet wife moved to heaven.  I was thinking about her yesterday and began to wonder if she thinks about me while in heaven?  Then I had to laugh as the thought of how her newfound strength and joy within the splendor and majesty of His presence is most likely keeping her pleasantly and fully occupied! (See: I Chronicles 16:27)  But down here on the earth, with all the new changes that I’ve been forced to accept… I find lots of time to think about her!

With each passing month it gets easier though.  During this last month I’ve found myself thinking back over the years of my adult life and that how those years were profoundly influenced by the Word of God that I chose to take to heart, stand on… a lot… and then rejoice with much thanksgiving before, during and after I witnessed the results.  Many scriptures stand out, but one by far surpasses the others… and that being Joshua 1:9 when the Lord spoke to the new leader of what was to become the Jewish nation proclaiming: “I've commanded you to be strong and brave. Don't ever be afraid or discouraged! I am the LORD your God, and I will be there to help you wherever you go.” (CEV)

It was one of the first scriptures that I took personally into my life… with Piper’s patient, gently encouraging influence and assistance.  I remember facing an upcoming Economics mid-term at the Santa Rosa Junior College in 1972 with great concern over my abilities to get a decent understanding of the class subject!  Piper shared her method of doing all you can to study in the natural and then trusting God for the rest.  And, that’s when she introduced me to Joshua 1:9.  Well, I’m not sure what it was, but as I began to study and personalize that verse, I sensed a building confidence from deep inside of me!  So, I studied hard and long and walked into the auditorium with an uncanny peace in the knowledge that He was with me as I took that test.

And you know… even though I received a high “C” on the midterm (and believe me when I say I was expecting a lot less before I put my trust in the Lord!), I was quite pleased with the results and ended up at the end of the semester with a decent overall grade in the class.  I was also relieved because my Dad and the professor were friends and fellow members of the Knights of Columbus at the Catholic Church we attended!

That experience in trusting in the Word of God for the practical needs in life way back then, initiated a lifelong tradition in me that I have only built upon since the almost fifty years when it originally took place.  I’ve looked back over this last month to see and understand how our trusting in the Lord and His Word gave us favor and a good report with people from the beginning of our marriage years to the very end. (See: Proverbs 3:4)

And now, as I enter into the Eleventh month without her, I can only go forward with what I know… with what has always worked for me in the past!  As it was for us then, will continue to be for me today… and tomorrow!

Have a wonderful weekend.  We are supposed to have a pretty wet weekend, but on the bright side… I usually sleep really good when it rains!  So, I hope you enjoy your weekend… or “New Beginning” as Piper liked to encouragingly say, and while you're at it, repeat after me… “I am expecting to find and stand on a specific scripture from the Word of God to guide me on into victory today!”





* See “The Meaning of Numbers” at: https://mysticalnumbers.com/number-11/

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