Apron Strings Devotional for12/10/2001

1/5/00

Good Morning....
Jesus loves You!!

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Hi Dear Friends!

Yes, it's been a long time! So much to tell, and perhaps I will do that at a later date. I will share this much: On November 9, 2000 we were blessed with a beautiful baby girl. We named her Jamie, after her dad. ( James a.k.a. Jimmy ) My writing days have been scarce since. However, last night I was led to write a short article that I hope will bless you. This devo is not the usual fare with poems and other articles. Just one article from one heart that God has touched. I really missed you guys! See ya at the end! ( smile )

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Lord, what's your shoe size?

There she was, standing in the funeral home, just a few feet away from a small wide coffin. I had wondered what she looked like. My connection was through her father, who was a former co-worker. It was more than an obligation to be present that evening. It was a need. A need to be there for someone who lost not one, but both of her children.

I can totally relate to part of the scenario that led up to that dreaded gathering. I've done it myself a million times. She was driving down the road and glanced at her children in the backseat for what seemed a millisecond. As she turned back to face the road, she found herself too close to a bridge railing and wasn't able to maneuver in time. The car clipped the railing and landed face down in just a few feet of water. She felt a piercing pain shoot through her arm as the water rose but the alarming reality was that she was unable to rescue her darlings. A girl and a boy. The little girl was about 5 years old and the boy was less than 2. They were so beautiful lying there in that coffin and my first impression was, "This is not supposed to be! They should be playing and laughing. They should be learning and growing." But, alas... it was to be. I've no doubt that they are doing all those things in Heaven, but that doesn't change the fact that their mother and father are left grieving and wondering, "What if?" What if she stayed home that morning and decided not to arrange to meet her mother for a day of shopping? What if she didn't look in the backseat at that very moment?

When it was my turn to console her at the funeral home, I was speechless. I embraced her and weakly mouthed the words, "I'm sorry." But that didn't seem like enough. Words could not fix this. The pain she was experiencing was so unimaginable to me. I could only hope and pray that God would help her through this. And He would. I knew He would. But still, the void was there. Empty beds to accompany empty hearts. Who could fill a void that big? Is God bigger than the void?

That question reminds me of something that happened just yesterday. Ironically, I was driving down the road with two of my children, Sam, 8, and Noah, almost 5. I was lost in my own thoughts and they were having a discussion in the backseat which soon turned into a heated deliberation. From the bits and pieces I picked up, they were arguing about God's size. Sam was declaring that nothing or no one was as big as God, but Noah begged to differ. Finally, in exasperation, Sam said, "Mom, tell Noah that Jesus' foot is bigger than the earth!" I had to laugh and I hoped that Sam and the Lord didn't mind. I am a visual person and I got this picture in my head of this REALLY big foot! Of course after I composed myself, I sided with Sam. I love looking through his eyes. He sees a God so big that His foot alone is bigger than the earth we dwell on. It never ceases to amaze me that this same God is big enough to carry us through the most terrible storms of life. I hope I never lose sight of that revelation, but if I do, I'll just go have a talk with Sam.

God Bless you all, and remember:
Jesus loves you and I do too!

In Christ!!
Carol Skipper
Justaservn@aol.com

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