God's Covenant

"I will remember my covenant with you in the days of your youth, and I will establish with you an everlasting covenant."  -Ezekiel 16:60

This is me on my 8th birthday.  Earlier that year I'd accepted Jesus as my Savior.  I remember the day very well.  It came after several Sundays of raising my hand during the pastor's call to come forward for those who wished to receive Jesus Christ as their Savior.  I was too shy to go up by myself, so I finally asked my mother to go with me.  Even now I can still feel the sensation that I felt that morning--and the one I felt later that afternoon.  When we got home from church we went next door to eat dinner with our neighbors.  Afterwards I was helping to dry the dishes and ALMOST dropped a plate.  I just KNEW it was Jesus who had helped me catch it in time because in the split second between when I felt it slipping out of my hand and catching it, I'd prayed for God's help.

I have never forgotten the covenant I made that day with God and neither has He.  I did not have an idyllic childhood nor even a "normal" one by today's standard, but despite the difficulties I faced I always felt that God was with me, leading me on the path He'd prepared for me.  When I should have gotten into trouble because of the lack of parental involvement in my life, God instilled in me His wisdom through the Holy Spirit, which led me to make the kind of choices that kept me from being led astray.  He's enabled me to use what He's provided in order to grow closer to Him.  He has never left me even in the times I've questioned because I did not understand His ways.  To Him, I am still that little, trusting child in need of His care.

I am grateful for God's tender mercies, His strong arm, and yes, even His mysterious ways.