A Soldier's Mother-- "Mothers Day" Testimony

 I felt the Lord has laid on my heart to share a testimony that happened on Mothers Day 2003. My son had just left for Iraq that March and Mothers Day had now come and we had not heard from him yet. I woke up that morning thinking if they ever tried to get a phone to those boys surly it would be today "Mothers Day". I faithfully attend a local church and I'm apart of a prayer team there. I told myself that I probably better stay home today because he might call, and that the Lord and everyone at church would understand. This reasoning was especially due to the fact that I had a friend at that time who also had a son over there and it was three months when they finally got their first call and they missed it! They came home to find a short message on their answering machine. I thought she would never get over that, she was so tore up over missing that call. As I was remembering that, fear tried to come over me. But as I was thinking to myself about this the Lord began to talk to me. He reminded me that if I would seek first the Kingdom He would give me what others were seeking after . In my heart I knew that was right but my flesh was struggling. I said "OK Lord , I'm trusting you not to let me miss that phone call". After church that day I had to leave quickly to get my 15 yr old daughter across town to her job. We were on our way when she asked me to stop and grab her some lunch. I told her we would stop and see if our order for chicken was ready at our local Dairy De lite and she could eat some of that on her way to work. We pulled in and our order was just about ready so we waited just a few minutes, got our chicken and got back on the road. Then she said "Mom, I have got to go the bathroom and I can't wait till I get to work" Now our town is not very big, we only had about 3 of 4 miles to go. But she insisted so I said " I'll see if the Amoco is open and you can run in there." We pulled up at the last light in town right at the Amoco and it was red and so I had to stop for just a minute. I saw flashing lights from a truck behind me with the rest of my children in it just blowing the horn and waving at me. I thought to myself "what are they doing in town, they were supposed to of gone straight home to make sure the house was ready for all the rest of my family to come for Mothers Day lunch at our house." The light turned green and I pulled into the gas station for my daughter to go the bathroom, when the rest of my kids in their friends truck came flying up beside me. My other son jumps out of the truck before it was even stopped and thrust his hand with his cell phone in the car window to me. It was my son in Iraq! Who had waited four hours to use a phone and he only got two minutes. He called his bothers phone because he knew we were probably still at church and I leave my cell in the car but his brother never lets his leave his side. Can you see the whole picture? First of all, If I had stayed home from church I would of missed the call. If I had not stopped for the chicken my other children would not have caught up with us and If I had not of stopped to let my daughter go to the bathroom by the time they had got me to pull over I would of missed that call. But my God was not going to let me miss that phone call! Because of that unbelievable chain of events that God so precisely orchestrated I was able to face the rest of the time my son was in Iraq with a confidence and peace that passed all my natural mother understandings. When fear would try to come on me, I would just remember my Mothers Day call. I would just picture them having a flat tire before they got to a bridge that might have a bomb or what ever chain of events it would take for God to protect my son because I knew that if God cared that much about a phone call, how much more would He care about my sons welfare! May you be encouraged by this and know that God is no respecter of persons only faith, so trust in the Lord with all your heart and lean not to your own understanding! This was just as important for me to recall all this as it is for you to hear this because once again my son is leaving for his second tour in Iraq and now my younger son has also joined the Marines and will be leaving with him. May God Bless, Jackie P. Clanton, Al

New Year

Heaven and earth shall pass away, but my words shall not pass away…. Matthew 24:35
We have come to the end of another year on this earth.  For some of you it has been a difficult year, and you will breathe a sigh of relief that it’s over.  Some of you have had an easy year, and its passing will not be remarkable.  The passing of time is relative…. for some people it seems to pass all too slowly, but for others it seems to race by, stealing the chances to accomplish all the desires and dreams.  Some of you will want to stop time in its tracks, because things are going so well for you and you never want it to end.  Some of you want time to hurry by, because you are unhappy and have no hope in God.  The passing of time for some means the end of good times and for others the continuing of bad times.  But time and circumstances really have no relationship.  Time will pass whether anything happens or not, because that is what God has decreed.  When He created the universe, He set a clock in motion.  That clock is ticking and nothing can stop it.  People are born, and they die.  Humankind builds things and things are destroyed.  More things are built in their place.  And they also shall become as dust in the field.  The words of humankind are as the chaff in the wind; they will blow away and nothing we do will be able to locate them.  It is not the word of man we must look to for inspiration and guidance, but the Word of God.  All the things we call permanent are really temporary, because they will pass away in their time.  The only thing that will last is the Word of God.  The only really permanent thing is the Word of God.  The only thing we can really depend on to always be there is the Word of God.  In the beginning was the Word and the Word was with God and the Word was God.  The Word of God was there is the beginning, He is with us now, and will be there in the end.  The central issue of our lives must be that we hold fast to the Word of truth, because everything else will pass away.  Even heaven and earth will pass away, but His Word will stand forever.
This year passes away, and another begins.  There have been encouragements and successes.  There have also been obstacles and setbacks.  But in God we have seen that such things only slow us down for a little while – they cannot stop us completely.  Some have stayed faithful to God and His agenda.  Others have fallen by the wayside.  Some have given up completely, given up hope, given up salvation, given up on God.  We must be faithful, and remember that we can do all things through Christ who strengthens us.  God is not a God of defeat and despair.  He is a God of victory and high hopes.  There is a promise to be had.  There is an end to suffering.  There is a beginning to peace.
As we end this year we should reflect on what has passed.  Have we been as obedient to God?  Is there something we could have done better?  Is there something we left undone that we can still do (in God’s will)?  Has God given us a vision for the New Year?  Do we see the path before us?  Let us go into the New Year with our sights focused on the Lord God and on doing His will.  Let us enter this new time with a new determination to be even more faithful to God.  Let us enter the New Year with a determination to be even closer to heaven in 2007.
God Bless You,
Your Servant for Christ,
Mani R Nadava