| FOR REASONS I KNOW NOT Dear Sisters in the Lord Often, Christians will tell of mighty things the Lord has done for them. I do too. I love to do it. Yet ~ I want to acknowledge, tell of even the small things He has done for me and others close to me. That's what I hope to do here on Heartchange. At this point I have to tell you that sometimes, I think to myself "who am I that people should want to listen to my mundane life?" or "who do I think I am that the Lord should perchance use me in this way (or any other way, for that matter) to His glory". Yet, I know that the Lord can and does use each and every one of us. Anytime, anywhere, anyhow ~ to His pleasure and glory. The Lord will use saved sinners and lost sinners, as He sees fit. I wanted to share with you an example of one of those 'small' wonders the Lord has performed. Small to some, but great to me : ~ When we first moved into this house ~ 8 years ago now, I battled with my garden. It was solid clay. I had no gardening experience, and didn't even have the desire to begin solving soil problems! My children were younger and there were so many other, more pressing things to do. But.... I wanted a garden! And we all know that we have to work for what we want, don't we? I listened to the gardeners of old ~ those living as well as those passed on, through their books. I listened and learned from their tips and tricks. Year after year, I battled with grass growth in the middle of an 11 x 6 metre piece of ground that I wanted to turn into a garden. This particular area received full (hot) sun. I would put layers and layers of manure and straw, in an effort to try and keep the weeds away as well as nourish the (extremely depleted) soil. I would hand-pull horrible mat-grass (I don't know what you call it ~ ha. Perhaps I should learn the name of my enemy ~ smile). Then suddenly, almost miraculously, my garden grew. In fact, it flourished. I had planted about 8 cypress trees in this area, to create a huge hedge (we live opposite an old hotel!). Year after year, they grew and started to look beautiful. Even the magnolias grew ~ yet I had been told that they were planted in the wrong area...... Then suddenly, my trees started to die. One by one. But only at the right hand side of this patch. They were dying from right to left. Oh, woe was I! My labour of love, it seemed, was proving to be fruitless. My intentions were to nurture these trees (and some shrubs) back to health in spring of last year, but I was not able to do this, as our family ~ the new migrants to Australia were living with us. Helping them settle in their new land took up much of our time. I watched as a portion (seemingly large!) of my beloved garden disappeared. As Christians, we all know that everything happens for a reason. Our Lord God is Saviour of all. He is on the throne and He is in control of all that happens to us. He has a masterplan that we cannot see, nor understand. Aaah... the mysteries of God. What a thing! And now ~ present day. As you are all aware, our intentions for our children, Godwilling, are to set up a small business for them (particularly the girls). We hope to use a portion of our home as a coffee shop. The area designated is to the right of the house. We realise we will have to remove a large picket fence, as well as trees, shrubs and Banksia roses in order for prospective customers to see us. We also have to create a paved area in front of this section, for outside dining. The most awesome revelation for me is that the very area we have to clear has already been cleared ~ by nature ~ by the Lord God. Yes, Sisters, those trees and shrubs that died are directly in front of the area we intend using as an entrance to our new shop. I pointed this out to Andre, who said "you see, Helen, there's a reason for everything". And I sure do know it! Praise the Lord. Dear Sisters, when you suffer heartache or discouragement, look forward to ~ even brace yourself. The Lord has a mighty work in progress for you! With love from Helen |