Liz’s Morning Devotional: Scripture selected from Upper Room
November 11, 2022
Read Exodus 2:1-10
1 Now a man from Levi’s household married a Levite woman. 2 The woman became pregnant and gave birth to a son. She saw that the baby was healthy and beautiful, so she hid him for three months. 3 When she couldn’t hide him any longer, she took a reed basket and sealed it up with black tar. She put the child in the basket and set the basket among the reeds at the riverbank. 4 The baby’s older sister stood watch nearby to see what would happen to him. 5 Pharaoh’s daughter came down to bathe in the river, while her women servants walked along beside the river. She saw the basket among the reeds, and she sent one of her servants to bring it to her. 6 When she opened it, she saw the child. The boy was crying, and she felt sorry for him. She said, “This must be one of the Hebrews’ children.” 7 Then the baby’s sister said to Pharaoh’s daughter, “Would you like me to go and find one of the Hebrew women to nurse the child for you?” 8 Pharaoh’s daughter agreed, “Yes, do that.” So the girl went and called the child’s mother. 9 Pharaoh’s daughter said to her, “Take this child and nurse it for me, and I’ll pay you for your work.” So the woman took the child and nursed it. 10 After the child had grown up, she brought him back to Pharaoh’s daughter, who adopted him as her son. She named him Moses, “because,” she said, “I pulled him out of the water.”
Good Morning, Praise be to our gracious God!
God blesses us and protects us! When we celebrated All Saints Day, I took time to thank the unknown angels who had watched over me along my way. I have experienced such unconditional acts of kindness and mercy over the years. I do not see these as random acts, but the acts of those placed by God to help me when I most needed it. Lowell and I married and started our family on a wing and a prayer. We did not have much money or possessions, but we did have love and faith.
In those early years, most of our cars were in the junker category. When Lowell enlisted in the Navy, we left our Indiana home and headed to multiple assignments in Florida, New York, back to Florida, and then we landed in Virginia. We did not have family close by in any of these places, so we had to learn to trust in the kindness of others when our cars wouldn’t run or our babysitter was sick.
We were blessed so many times. Perhaps the most amazing was our own example of a good Samaritan. We were taking a trip to Yorktown, our next duty station, to search for housing when our car started acting funny. We were somewhere in South Carolina and we decided we needed to take the exit to have someone look at our car. We arrived at a gas station that actually had a mechanic and he explained that “some part” must be replaced before the car could continue on our trip.
It’s funny how the logistical details have faded but the kindness is as clear as if it were yesterday. When we started talking with him and sharing our dilemma of reaching Yorktown, he offered us one of his cars. Can you imagine a complete stranger saying take my car? We thanked him and said that we couldn’t possibly do that, but he insisted. We were truly desperate so we accepted his car and continued to Yorktown where we took care of our business. Upon our return, our car had been fixed and was ready for us to return home. When we offered to pay him (money we really didn’t have to spare), he refused and said for us to share kindness with someone else in need. We said a prayer together and thanked him. It sounds like a story from a Hallmark movie, but this was real!
God places saints and angels along our paths when we are in need. It might be a major event like the loaning of a car, or it might be as simple as a smile from someone as we walk down a street or hallway along an unknown path. Praise be to God for our unconditional grace! We are chosen and protected by our Creator for a special purpose to light the way so that others can be found.
Gracious God, Thank You for loving us. Oh my, We are so needy! Thank you for caring for us and even carrying us when we have fallen. In Jesus’ name, we pray. Amen
Thought for the day: Today I will look for God’s grace in my circumstances.
Be someone’s angel! Pastor Liz
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